DexNote
by noidea12
Summary: Taking place after Dexter's second season, and soon after L's death in the English dub of Death Note. What happens when the world's two most famous vigilante serial killers meet? Written in the style of the Wicked and Deadly series'.
1. Chapter 1

_**Light**_

It's dominated the news for the last week.

'The Bay Harbour Butcher is dead'. It's on every station. Those who oppose me want me to be afraid of them. They want me to know that I'm not invincible, that one day they'll catch me. It's ridiculous, to compare some small time vigilante to me, the god of the new world. I switch off the TV and turn back to my team, the Kira Task Force.

"It's been two months since the first L died. Other than the huge rise in attacks by Kira after Ryuzaki's death, we've had no new leads in the investigation."

"But what about what they're saying?" says Matsuda. "On the internet, on the news, that maybe the Bay Harbour Butcher was connected to Kira?"

"Matsuda you idiot, there are vigilantes around the world, it's unlikely that any one of them kill for a reason other than their own sense of justice. Just because this… James Doakes…got himself caught doesn't mean he knows anything about Kira. And according to the information, he's been killing for a lot longer than Kira has."

"It was just an idea." Matsuda mumbles to himself.

"Actually Light, he might been onto something" says my father.

Impossible. I know myself that I've had no contact with James Doakes. "Why? Do you have any proof?"

"Maybe. While you were out this morning"…

Writing names.

…"we received any e-mail from Maria LaGuerta, the Lieutenant of Miami Metro PD."

"Let me guess, an emotionally involved co-worker convinced of his innocence."

"Yes, but she has evidence. Evidence which the FBI dismissed because of her involvement as quick as you did."

Interesting. Has the human justice system failed again? I wouldn't be surprised.

"It's not exonerating, just a few stake-out logs that conflict with the murders of some of the victims. But she'd like us to take a look into it seeing as we're the top investigative team in the world."

"Surely we're not going to" says Aizawa. "Some woman half way around the world wants us to go prove her friends innocence? This has nothing to do with us. Even if James Doakes isn't the Bay Harbour Butcher her evidence doesn't prove he has a connection to Kira. It would just be a waste of our time and distract us from our real case."

"That is, as long as he has no connection to Kira."

"What do you mean Light?"

"I mean this might be something to keep an eye on. Kira hasn't given us any clues in months. If he does share a connection with the Bay Harbour Butcher, I'm sure it'll show eventually."

I've never met the Butcher, I've never had any reason to suspect he was someone other than James Doakes, and yet I've already been fooled by him once. I was as quick to dismiss him as a suspect as everyone else. This could be something to keep an eye on…

Over the next few weeks, when I'm not writing names of 'investigating' Kira, I'm checking LaGuerta's story.

Miami has a suspiciously high rate of disappearances in criminals, far greater than the number of bodies found in the Butcher's dumping ground. It goes back years, since Doakes was still in the special forces. This settles it for me, Sergeant Doakes is not the Bay Harbour Butcher. But whoever he is, he's a genius. He's alluded capture for almost a decade, and when he finally does come into the public eye, he frames a corpse who can't claim otherwise, it's brilliant. If he is willing to serve me, he could be a mighty ally. If he's not, he's a dangerous foe who threatens my perfect world.

One month later I show the research to my team.

"Look at the rate of criminal disappearances in Miami compared to a month ago."

"It's barely five percent higher than it was before" says Mogi.

"Exactly I believe that Kira is now in Miami, trying to make contact with the Butcher, who he believes to still be alive. He's trying to be subtle about it, but he's not subtle enough, especially when you look at his attack pattern for the rest the world."

"Attacks in Japan have gone down nearly ten percent since L died! That's it! Does this mean we get to go to Miami!" exclaims Matsuda.

"Don't be an idiot"

"I'm afraid it does Aizawa. It's been another month and we still have no other leads in the Kira investigation. Unless you have any clues you've been hiding from us, we're relocating the task force head quarters to Miami."

"_Ooh Miami" _hisses Ryuk in my ear "_I've never been to the beach before, sounds interesting. Do they have apples there?"_

"Of course, I would never take you somewhere that doesn't have apples."

Ryuk laughs "_And what about you? What do you plan on doing once you've found the Butcher?"_

"It depends… but either way, I will find the real Bay Harbour Butcher, my new world depends on it."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Dexter**_

It happened one night.

Elliot Williams. Married twice, both wives died shortly after in suspicious car accidents. Charged both times, acquitted both times. My homework shows both cars were new, with excessive insurance policies. He's dating again, and recently proposed to his new girlfriend by buying her a sports car. And to top it all off he's taken out a large insurance policy on both his fiancé and the car. Better I break her heart then he does.

He leaves his work and gets into his car. He's planning on picking her up and the two of them are going away for the weekend to a Bed and Breakfast. I don't think he expects her to come back alive, but I don't think he expects I'm waiting in his backseat either.

Suddenly he can barely breathe, my garrote wire's around his throat.

"Listen very carefully to what I'm about to say. You're going to drive exactly where I tell you to. If you don't, I'll kill you right now, if you 're good I might be nice enough to let you call your fiancé to say goodbye before you leave her", I lie.

He starts to try to scream, but he can't get the sound out. His arms begin flailing madly.

"Cut it out, this sort of behaviour's not helping you."

He stops struggling finally, and slumps forward.

"Don't play dead with me…"

He's not breathing. I check his wrist. No pulse. Elliot Williams is dead. Don't look at me, I didn't do it.

It's on the news the next day. 'Man found dead in his car. Cause of death believed to be a heart attack. Investigation ongoing due to strange marks around neck'. Angel and Masuka are talking about it too.

"The guy was in perfect health and died of a heart attack, it had to have been Kira."

"No way, what about the marks on his neck? I'm telling you, Kira resurrected the Bay Harbour Butcher. If he has this mystical power of killing, he can probably bring people back. There are theories on the net that say the same."

"First off, why would his bring back Doakes? And then why did Kira decide to kill him off halfway through strangling him?"

"Huh. Guess it doesn't make sense. But what about the marks on the dude's neck?"

"The guy was probably just kinky. Maybe you met him once in a fetish chat room."

"Actually yeah! There was this guy a few weeks ago who said he was into…"

"Masuka….I was kidding."

"Oh yeah."

"What do you think Dex? You've been quieter than usual today."

"Have I? Sorry I just…"

"Attention everybody!" Phew, saved by the lieutenant. "By now I'm sure you've all heard the rumours that Doa…The Bay Harbour Butcher was working with Kira."

Yes, we've all heard the rumour. And I can't help but smile every time I hear it, its just so ridiculous.

"Well the Kira Task Force has been investigating these claims, and found possible evidence connecting the two."

What? Could this possibly get any stupider?

"As such, they have come to Miami in their ongoing pursuit of Kira, and will be using this station and its resources as their headquarters. I would now like to introduce to you the head of the Kira Task Force, L."

"Thank you Lt. LaGuerta. I am L. Due to a recent increase in criminal deaths in Miami, it is our belief that Kira is currently here, searching for the Bay Harbour Butcher in an attempt to make him an ally.

"But Doakes is dead! Are you telling us he's a zombie?" Masuka yells. "I told you guys, Kira can raise the dead!" he whispers to us.

"No. We believe that Doakes was never the Bay Harbour Butcher to begin with. Due to this and Kira's current motives, we will also be unofficially reopening to Butcher case. I will be reviewing your information on the Butcher before I address you again with our direction on this case."

"All right people, I except your full support and cooperation with the task force. In the mean time get back to it." Maria tells us as she returns to her office with L. On the way she winks at me. If she wants to flirt, then sending the world's top investigative team after me is really not the way to do it.

"So that's L huh?" says Angel. "He looks younger than I expected."

"Yeah! That's because Light's only in university! He became L after Kira got the first L!" says someone I've never seen before.

"Matsuda you idiot!" says another man, hitting him on the back of the head. "Why would you go and tell them something like that?"

"Sorry Aizawa. Light…I mean L said that we would be cooperating with Miami Metro, and that they would automatically count as part of the task force."

"I know but…. he can't have really meant that….I mean if we trust civilians, then word of our investigation is sure to get out, and then we're all in danger."

"So we're all on the Kira task force?" Says Masuka "That's fucking awesome!"

"I know right? Being on the most respected detective tem in the world! And the experience! Hunting the worlds greatest serial killer!" says Matsuda "By the way, I like your zombie idea, I mean if Kira can kill with supernatural powers, then he might be able to bring people back too!"

"I know it does make sense, huh? I like this guy. You got any other theories?"

"Do I? Come here, I've got some reports written up in my folder."

"Matsuda!" yells the one called Aizawa "Don't give him any other information!"

"What other information do you have? Do you guys know what kind of powers Kira has yet?" asks Angel.

"…..We do….but we can't divulge that inf…"

"Don't worry my friend, I understand. You guys gotta protect yourselves. I got a little girl, if I were in your shoes, I'd be doing the same thing."

"A girl huh? Me too. What's her name?"

"Ally" says Angel, showing Aizawa a picture from his wallet.

"Here's mine, Yumi" says Aizawa, showing a picture back.

"She looks sweet. Did she come over from Japan with you guys?"

"Yeah. My family weren't sure about the move at first, but now they're really enjoying it. They're at the beach right now with Mogi, he's another member of the taskforce, and Light's girlfriend Misa."

"Wow, I'm glad you…..Hey Dex! You alright there? You've been sitting dead quite for bout ten minutes now. You feeling alright?"

"Yeah… I'm fine…it's just, Kira, here? Shocking! Right? It's a lot to process."

The world's top detective minds are in my city, hunting for the world's biggest serial killer, who is searching for me, and they in turn are searching for me. It really is a lot to process. I call Deb, and we arrange to meet for lunch. Talking with her puts things straight for me, even if she lacks eloquence.

"Fucking hell! Kira's in Miami? Bullshit."

See?

"That's what the task force are saying."

"Yeah well they're also saying Doakes was never the Butcher. I don't think Lundy got that one wrong."

Poor girl. She still has a soft spot for him, even though she hasn't heard from him in months.

"Yeah… me either."

"Still, I wish I could've been there for the announcement, been on the Elliot Williams case all day. They're saying its just another Kira attack. And the marks on his neck? Turns out this guys just into the kinky shit. We found heaps of sick minded chat rooms in his internet history. The guy probably knew Masuka."

"Don't worry about it. We haven't been fully briefed on the case yet. But we're all automatically on the task force, so you'll be filled in."

"Are you fucking serious?" Deb smiles "I'm going to be on the task force going after the biggest case in the world? Holy shit! That's awesome!….Though you probably don't think so."

"What do you mean?"

"You told me once you were alright with the Butcher. I suppose you think Kira is the voice of justice as well, cleaning up the streets, protecting families and all that bullshit."

"Actually Deb, I don't."

"Huh?"

"Well the profile on Doakes said he was killing only bad people to bring justice. But Kira…they're saying he does the same thing, but that he wants to rule the world once he's cleaned it up. Doakes was a vigilante, Kira is a madman bent on world domination and needs to be stopped."

"Brother…..you have the weirdest fucking sense of justice ever. I'm glad you're on our side."

What I said is partly true. I kill only bad people, and it helps make the world a better place. But with Kira, it's just a means to an end. And he's shown his true intentions by murdering anyone in his way, even if they've done nothing wrong. I'm glad I talked to Deb, my mind is clear. I'm glad now that Kira is in town and that I'll be on the task force responsible for finding him. Because one we have, I'll be the one who kills Kira.

Oh, and not to mention, in a world of only good people, who would I be left to play with?


	3. Chapter 3

_**LIGHT**_

"Why would you do this Light? What is the meaning of this?"

"I agree with your father, you've put all our lives at great risk."

"It was a necessary move, Lieutenant, for the greater good. And if you weren't prepared for it, then maybe you shouldn't have gotten involved with the world's largest manhunt."

"Yes….but….just announcing that you've brought your team to Miami in search of Kira and the Bay Harbour Butcher…seems reckless. If word gets out, either one of the could come after us."

"Not to mention they could flee Miami, making this move completely pointless."

I'm sitting in LaGuerta's office just after giving my rundown on why we've come to Miami. As I expected, the newest members of my task force are surprised by my decision to announce our arrival, but my father? After every unconventional move made by the first L, I would have thought by know he'd be expecting us to use some unusual measures.

"And that's exactly what we want" I say ignoring him, "for word to get out."

My father sighs deeply, while the Lieutenant just looks confused.

"Long ago when the first L suspected I was Kira, he came to me and told me who he was. He wanted me to panic, to slip up. Maybe to reveal myself in an attempt to come after him. This is the same tactic. While I doubt Kira will try to take us down, I don't know enough about the Butcher to make any judgements about what he might do. And if they've already met, than catching one will lead us to the other."

"And what if they haven't met, Light?"

"Then when the Butcher hears about us, he will make a decision to either find and join Kira, or to oppose him and go to war. And when Kira finds out, he will most likely hasten his attempts to find the Butcher. Either open war or a partnership between the two will make things more dangerous, but both will also make them easier to find."

"I see. I hope you know what your doing Light. I'm not sure wether the risks are worth it for the greater good. But where do we begin?"

"With James Doakes and the cabin. There's a reason Doakes was targeted by the Butcher. And there's a reason why he was at that cabin when he died. Until we start identifying potential suspects, we'll start there."

"You were a Kira suspect…? First L?" mutters the Lieutenant.

"I suppose there's a lot to fill you in on, Maria. I'll let my father brief you. In the mean time, I'll back to the hotel and finish reviewing the FBI's information on the case before we begin."

I finished looking at all the details to the case before we even left Japan. Mostly I just wanted to get back in time to see the news. But when I turn on the television, it's only soaps. Too early for the news, I'm still jetlagged. It wouldn't hurt to revise the case further.

"_I was watching you_" says Ryuk, hovering over my shoulder "_what's the real reason you signed Miami Metro up to your team_?"

"Exactly as I said, Ryuk. To let word get out. Once The Butcher learns that we're in town, he and everyone else will lose all doubt that Kira is here as well. Once they do, The Butcher will either try to contact Kira as a friend or as an enemy, or flee. In the process, we might even catch him by accident, which would only serve to hasten my plan. The best way to find him is to hunt him."

"_That's it? You're just going to hunt for him as a criminal or hope that he comes to you?"_

"Of course not. I have other plans, but to start with I need him to know that both Kira and the Kira Task Force are looking for him. Once I have an idea of what kind of person The Butcher is, I can put my other plans into motion"

"_Other plans, huh? I can't wait to see."_ Ryuk whispers, floating through the door.

"And because of what the FBI's investigation turned up."

Ryuk stops suddenly, phased halfway out of the room _"And what was that?"_

"This agent….Lundy, believed that The Butcher was within the Miami police department. If he's as brilliant as he seems, he could have been stringing along the FBI the entire time. If not, it will be wise to keep a close eye on them. But for now, we're starting our investigation where The Butcher left it, at the cabin."

…

This Miami heat changes you. The inhabitants of this city seem fine. As the members of Miami metro show up to the ruins of the cabin a few days later, they set up like its any other day, as if what they're feeling is room temperature. But me? I'm wearing a bucket hat, a short sleeved shirt, shorts instead of my usual trousers, sunglasses and what feels like several layers of sunscreen, and I still feel like I'm about to melt. I have to say, my attire isn't a good look for the king of the new world. I feel foolish.

The rest of the original members of the task force look the same. Sweat constantly running down their faces, reappearing seconds after they wipe it off. Drinking from their water bottles ever half minute. But at least they final look like what they really are, pathetic scavengers, in over their heads trying to stop a god.

"Hey L! Looking good, nice sunglasses! YEEEEEAAH!" shouts some bald little Asian man I've only seen briefly around the station.

"Shut it Masuka. This is the guy that's gonna help us catch Kira. Show a little respect" says his friend quietly. "Now would you go start setting up?"

"Whatever." says Masuka wandering away. "I hope zombie Doakes eats your brains when you're asleep."

I turn to the stranger "Thank you…..?"

"Dexter….Dexter Morgan"

"Thank you Dexter. And what's your role here?"

"Forensics. Blood spatter specifically. I don't know if I'll be much good to you're here, most of the good evidence is probably either gone or already in our evidence locker."

"Perhaps. But we can't take any chances now."

"Yeah….I suppose."

"You don't sound very confident, Dexter."

"Don't I? I guess it's because I still believe Doakes was the Butcher?

"Do you?" I laugh. "Don't worry. Even some of my associates still feel that way., it's alright, But I suspect soon I'll prove to you that the real Butcher is still alive and killing"

"I sure hope not." mutters Dexter as he begins to walk away.

"Oh, in case you forgot," I yell after him "I'm not helping you catch Kira, you're helping me."

"He's right you know." says Aizawa joining me "You haven't proved to anyone that James Doakes wasn't the real Butcher yet."

"Have you seen the newspapers yet?" I say holding up a copy of today's. It simply reads; 'KIRA IN MIAMI?', with a subheading saying; "BUTCHER ALIVE?"

"Yes I've seen them. But people are just scared at the moment, and the media will report anything, even if there isn't any hard evidence yet."

"We'll see. Even if we don't find anything here, we just need to wait for The Butcher to react."

"Hmm. I think that….oh here comes your father Light. But he's alone, wasn't he supposed to bring the Lieutenant with him?"

My father walks over from his car, his head down looking slightly worried. He clutches a manila folder in his hands as he walks over the charred remains of the cabin to us.

"Father, isn't the Lieutenant with you?"

"No, she called me earlier this morning saying she was ill. But she said you e-mailed her asking for a full report of the cabin, which she faxed over to me." he says presenting the folder to me.

"Excellent. Her absence wont be a problem them.

Now lets see here 'No record of the cabin's existence prior to close of Butcher case. Believed to have been built illegally. Owner unknown. Police from local county kept patrol on immediate area for several weeks after close of Butcher case. Caught drug runners coming to cabin several times, anchoring boats at nearby dock. Adjacent canal investigated….site used as meeting place for local teenagers…considered similar to holy ground by Butcher supporters…cause of explosion determined to be propane tank ignited by flame on stove…'"

Every time I read it in one of the reports, it stops me dead. This alone should prove the Butcher isn't James Doakes. A killer this great wouldn't be downed by something so trivial.

'….traces of cocaine found in wreckage…' nothing I haven't already heard about the cabin" I say, flipping through the rest of the report. "Although, this site is popular with drug runners and users. This is new information to me. The cabin must have been a meeting place for drug deals. In fact, wasn't the body that was found in their with Doakes' that of a known addict?"

The hours begin to go by. Forensics teams continue to scan every molecule of what remains of the cabin. Two officers keep watch on a police boat on the canal. Criminal behavioural analysts arrive and discuss the possible significances of the location. Officers come and go in a blur. The hours turn into a day, which turns into a week, the amount of time I requested to investigate to site. And my investigation has turned up….

Nothing.

The night sets on the seventh day. I sit in Miami Metro Headquarters. Only the original members of my team are with me.

"I told you it was a waste of time." says Aizawa "You've got nothing to show us Light. This whole trip has been a waste of time! We should go back to Japan!"

"Hey! Light will find something. L trusted his instincts and so do I. We just need to keep looking" interjects Matsuda.

"Well Light. What do you have to say? Where should we take the investigation now?" asks my father.

"I…..I need some time to think" I announce.

As the Kira Task Force leaves the office I have taken up residence in, Ryuk appears by my side.

"_Well, well, well. Look what's become of the great Light Yagami. Unable to hunt down a simple serial killer. Hey! What's with the smirk?"_

"We may not have turned up any physical evidence, but ever since I learned of the drug related history of the cabin, all the other information I have on the case has been like playing join the dots."

"_Huh?"_

"Once I got back to the hotel at the end of the first day of my investigation, I did a simple search of the Miami police data base for criminals who went missing around the time of the cabin's explosion with a history of drug related offences." I say showing Ryuk a printing of all the names.

"_Wow, that's a lot of people. Almost as many as in your notebook" _he laughs looking at the list "_So which one is it_ _? Mark Bartol? Sarah Lewis? Santos Jimenez? Chris Cortez? Lila West?…"_

"AKA Lila Tourney. Suspected arsonist. Her loft burned down. Twice. Previously suspected of murder after her ex was killed in a fire. No charges were made after the fire was declared an accident. It fits with Doakes' death, died in an explosion."

"_Ooh, go on."_

"Afterwards began attending N.A. meetings to support a supposed heroin addiction. She attended these meetings for almost a year, despite never showing any addictive behaviour. Was last seen purchasing an unknown substance from a dealer."

"_Interesting. And where is she now?"_

"Dead. Her body was found in a hotel room in Paris, neatly placed in a body bag less than two weeks later. The information never made the rounds, her few contacts reported that she had made a sudden decision to move, no one in Miami notice she died. Best of all, she framed an officer here for rape, so her name was at the top of my search."

Ryuk laughs, _"But how does she fit in with the cabin?"_

"The report shows that police found several different types of tire tracks in the mud when the began their initial investigation of the cabin. They were identified, but never looked into further once they identified one as belonging to Doakes' rental car. One of them matches those on the car that Lila reported sold before her move to France. Miami Metro's evidence locker shows that a GPS was found at the scene. Someone was looking for the cabin, and no one would be careless enough to leave it there unless they had only just found the cabin, and were in a rush to get out of there. Lila was the one searching for it, and was the one to blow it up."

Suddenly I hear a shrill screaming voice I have been fortunate to barely hear since I arrived in Miami.

"Light. Light!"

"Misa…"

"Light!" she yells as she runs across the office and vaults over my desk to hug me "Light sweetie! I've missed you so much! The beach was fun but when the sun started going down I told Mogi we should come here to visit you! He said we shouldn't but I missed you so much I managed to convince him!' she says almost as if with one breath.

"Mogi…" I growl at the large man slowly strolling in after Misa.

"So Light, I couldn't really stop her."

"That's okay…" I start.

Misa interrupts "Oh you should see Mogi at the beach! He still wears a suit and pretends to be my manager. He looks silly but it makes him popular with the ladies!"

"Misa, stop it…" he blushes.

"Misa" I say firmly "Go back to our hotel, I'm just finishing up something here. I'll only be ten minutes behind you."

"Ok! I'll wait up for you Light! I've still got so much more to tell you about my day!' she says almost flying back towards the elevators with Mogi following slowly behind.

"_You still can't get rid of her, huh Light?" _says Ryuk.

"Keeping the second Kira with me could be useful later. And just now she's proved a very important point."

"_And what's that?"_

"Lila was a Butcher fanatic. Just like Misa obsesses over me and follows my every instruction, I believe that Lila thought she was in love with The Butcher. She was the one who killed Doakes, because she felt that he was an obstacle between their love."

"_What kind of an obstacle?"_

"I'm not sure yet. Maybe Doakes was onto the Butcher, and she killed him to protect him, or maybe The Butcher asked her to do it. There are plenty of possibilities, but they all come back to Lila's obsession with the Butcher. The key to finding him is Lila. And given that she was frequently involved with the station, we can take the next step in our investigation tomorrow."

"_Excellent" _says Ryuk "_But why didn't you feel it necessary to share this with your colleagues? Or sooner for that matter?"_

"I wanted to give the Butcher time to give me an answer. It's been a week, he must have seen the papers by now. If there's nothing in the news tomorrow, then we find out why Lila was so interested with this department and how it connects her to The Butcher."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Dexter**_

'**NO WAR KIRA!' - **It took me a week of planning.

I needed to send Kira a message, to let him know he's not welcome here. But without knowing who he is, I needed to make it public, so that everyone in Miami would hear it. And at the same time, I had to make sure that only Kira would know its from me, or else everyone would know that the Bay Harbour Butcher is definitely still alive.

Choosing the location was easy, anywhere in plain sight was perfect, but for fun, I choose a butcher shop.

Next, to make sure that the message isn't publicly linked back to the Butcher, I had to think about my usual M.O. and everything about Harry taught me about not getting caught…and turn it on its head.

The front window of the butcher shop is smashed. A few loose threads from clothing hang carelessly from the shards. The cash has been stolen from the register. The entire scene is a carefully painted portrait of a group of Kira protestors speaking their minds.

Though the lack of subtlety is nothing compared to the message written on the length of street in front of the butcher shop, written in big read letters - **'NO WAR KIRA!'**.

The message its self is only about 10% blood, and even that is only cow blood. The rest is spray paint, another clue that will link the setting to simple vigilantes. Simple as in regular people I mean, as in not me.

The slogan itself is fittingly crude, but it's still on every television news report in the morning mere hours after its discovered.

"No war Kira!" says the reporter on Rita's TV, 'A call to end the violence, or something more sinister? We go to our reporter at the scene, Melissa Hill, for more."

"Thank you Tom. This grim message behind was found just after six this morning out the front of a butcher shop, and now police are only just beginning to arrive on the scene. While I'm told the blood experts have not yet been called, some civilian 'investigating' has been conducted on the scene by ordinary people before authorities were able to isolate the area. What they were able to find, was that the message seems to be composed entirely of spray-paint. Of course, such speculation wont be verified until an official investigation has commenced, but in the meantime, it seems that the people of Miami are standing up for their safety in the presence of Kira. Back to you Tom."

"Thank you Melissa. But is it possible that this is work of the Bay Harbour Butcher, trying to send some sort of secret message to Kira, rather than just the citizens of Miami?"

"Yes, yes it is, and it seems that much of Miami agrees with you, Tom. As you can see…" says the reporter gesturing to the right, the camera following her arm to revealing a small crowd of what looks like protestors, "…Supporters of the Butcher are already on the scene declaring that this is a message from the Butcher himself telling him to leave us alone."

As I squint closer at the screen I can make out the signs the people are carrying. They say things like 'Butcher Kill Kira', 'Back off Kira', and my personal phrase, 'No War Kira'. Definitely not protestors.

"But of course, these are just personal opinions, and journalistically speaking they have no…excuse me but if I'm not mistaken that's Light Reynolds, better known as L getting out of that car that's just pulled up."

Of course that's not his real name. He's just using some stupid westernization of it which he's already revealed to Miami Metro..

"Excuse me, L!" she calls out as she runs over to him.

"Mr Reynolds" she says slightly breathless, "a few questions please? How much closer has coming to Miami brought you to catching Kira? Do you really believe the Butcher is still alive? Why did finally decided to make your identity known to the public? What is your intuition as the greatest detective on Earth telling you about this message?" she says without seeming to stop for air.

Someone from my cheer squad yells from off-screen "It's from the Butcher! He's gonna take Kira down!" The crowd cheers in agreement.

"I'm afraid I agree with your audience." says L. "It is my belief that this is the Bay Harbour Butcher's attempt to send Kira a message of war. So to answer your other questions, yes, I firmly believe that the Butcher is still alive and killing, and that there's proof written all over that sidewalk. As for why I'm revealing my identity, I believed that bringing as much publicity to this case as possible would bring the Butcher out of hiding. And its seems I was right. Exposing my true name was a small price to pay to take this investigation to the next level."

The rest of the interview is just white noise to me. All I can think is that I've been played before the first move was even made. L isn't an on the record cop, he doesn't have to worry about budgets or public image, so he cant stir the public into a panic if its in the best interests of his investigation. When he announced his arrival and intentions in Miami, the entire city became paranoid, and with hundreds of thousands of people looking out for a sign of the Butcher or Kira, there is no signal so subtle that it can be ignored by almost everyone. L essentially turned the entire city into his watchdogs.

And it now dawns on me. Not only to I have to find and stop Kira before he does the same to me, I have to convince the world's greatest detective and an entire city that I'm not real…again. Neither an easy task. Kira will likely retaliate to my message soon, finding and killing him should be my next priority. I can worry about fooling L and his task force when its all over. It all seems impossible, but its my only option.

The TV suddenly shuts off, snapping me back to reality. Rita's standing behind me with the remote in her hand, with a look that I imagine is concern for her children.

"Is everything okay Rita?"

"No, everything's not okay. Two of the world's worst criminals are here in Miami. I'm scared for my children's safety, Dexter."

"Why? They both only go after bad people. I don't think Astor and Cody have committed any murders lately."

"That's not the point. They say that Kira and the Butcher are going to war, if that's true then everyone's in danger. I can't let either of those monsters hurt my family."

She's right. When there's a war, innocent people are hurt in the cross fire. Astor and Cody are more than just a part of my mask now. It would be wrong to let them suffer, more wrong than if it were another child. If I could feel, this would be what family feels like. If Kira figures out who I am first, he could use Rita and the kids to get to me. Even if he doesn't Kira has killed innocents before, and so everyone is at risk.

"Rita, let's just sit down and work out a way to protect ourselves. We should start by"

Beep beep. Beep beep.

It's my phone. "Dexter you there? It's Angel."

"Yeah I'm here. This about the butcher shop?"

"You got it. You know where it is?"

"Yeah."

"Good, get over here as soon as possible."

"Listen…Rita…"

"You've been called in. It's fine, go. Come by when your finished and we'll work it out. I'll tell the kids you said hi when they're done getting ready for school."

"Sure, tell them I said I'll bring donuts."

***

Driving to the scene, I think about how funny it is. A few weeks ago, if anything Kira related made the news it was either used to portray him in a positive light, or not mentioned at all. Now it seems that his subtracters are finally raising there voices. I don't know what separates me from L, but it seems The Butcher has a large fan base. Maybe it's the blood, while L would lock him up, Kira and I will be going for each others throats. People are gluttons for spectacle, and this showdown must seem very grand to them. Or maybe they're hoping we'll somehow take each other out, after all, isn't evil suppose to sew the seeds of its own destruction? Apart from Kira supporters, Butcher supporters, and those who would see us both lose, I imagine there's a fourth party, those who would see us kiss and make up, and go on to take over the world together. I hope they don't find their voice any time soon

***

The scene of my message is almost unrecognisable. The crowd of people here to see it is so large, you'd think a celebrity is making an appearance. As I get closer, it seems I'm right, the great detective L is on the scene. People are yelling to him from behind the yellow tape, mostly to drop the search for me and Kira, but a few people are shouting him praises. One blonde Japanese girl is even holding a notebook, as though maybe she wants his autograph. Even if they are against me, it's nice to know that they entire world hasn't gone out of its mind, that some people still support justice.

"Ah you're. Dexter isn't it" says L.

"Yeah, that's right. So this is the famous bloody message everyone is talking about."

"Apparently not. It seems as though the message was written entirely with spray paint. The colour, consistency and smell all seem to point that way. But we'd still like you to investigate the message, see if you can find any trace elements of real blood."

"Will do."

"Now if you can also…damn it! Sergeant Batista! I made it your duty to see that no civilians cross this police line! We can't risk them contaminating my crime scene!' yells L as he runs over to Angel, who helps two burly cops drag the same blonde Japanese woman back behind the yellow tape.

"What a piece of work! Who the fuck does that L guy think he is?" says Deb arriving with Masuka. "He gives us shitty little jobs like crowd control, and he can't even bring his almighty team to do anything, fuck!"

"Whoa, chill Morgan. Your just upset cause if Lundy was here he'd have you working the front lines."

"Can it, Vince. If Lundy was here…"

"Blood."

"What's that Dex?"

"I found blood. Just some trace elements. Probably cow blood given the butcher shop, but it can't hurt to test it."

"Whoa, that was fast. Don't make the rest of us forensics look so bad." scowls Masuka.

Well, I knew where to look.

"This'll show L whose got the better cops. Hey L! We found…" Deb begins to yell.

But she is cut off by the screaming crowd. The people began to flow out from the middle of the throng as fast as they can, heading in ever direction. As the mass becomes clearer, Miami Metro and L move closer and we can see what the crowd is running from. A dead body.

"Everybody get back!" yells Angel, who gets to the body first. He kneels down and rests his fingers on the victim's neck. "No pulse." he announces.

He doesn't say it, but we're all thinking it. Heart attack.

"Sergeant Batista," says L, "with all do respect this is my crime scene!"

"With all do respect, L…Light," retaliates Angel, "you came here to work with our department. You don't command us, we work together or not at all."

L takes a deep breath. "Fine. Your scene sergeant. I agree, we need to work together on this. I'll need to speak to your lieutenant when she gets back from her leave to decide how to better integrate our resources."

"Fine. Thank you." says Angel relieved. "Okay people, lets get this body roped off too, we now have two crime scenes. Anyone who was already working on the message, stay there. Anyone who has not yet received orders you will be investigating our body."

"Actually sergeant, I've already found some blood on the message."

"Great work, Dexter. Get that back to the lab immediately, we want these solved as soon as possible."

"Yes sir."

****

There's no need to run any tests on the blood I found. I put it there, just simple cow's blood from the butcher shop, all I have to do is right up a convincing report. The rest of my time back at the station is precious, I can use it to plan my next move against Kira.

Beep beep. Beep beep.

God damn it.

"Hello?"

"Dexter, it's Rita."

"Hey, how are you?"

"I'm worried Dexter. I was watching the news. They were talking about that man who had a heart attack today. I know we agreed to decide together on how to keep the kids safe, but I've already made a decision. We're going out of town, we'll be staying with my mother until this thing is over."

"Oh…okay. That's fine… but I thought you hated your mother?"

"She called me Dexter. She offered to help protect my family and it seemed like the best option. I could use a lift to the airport tonight though."

"Yeah okay. I'll see if I can get off work early, you know, beat the rush. Don't know if I'll have much luck though."

"It's ok. The children are already packing. We'll be ready and waiting here when you arrive."

"Okay bye…I love you."

I can feel my dark passenger cringe when I say that.

"All right everyone, we have an ID on our heart attack victim." comes Angel's voice as he enters Miami Metro. Back already? I must have spent too much time making my report look convincing.

"Arthur Symons. Wanted for killing a clerk in a liquor store robbery. Kira is definitely our prime suspect. Dexter?" says angel towards my lab, "find anything in that blood yet?"

"Uh yeah. Cows blood, most likely from the butcher shop. Seems to point to vandals."

"I agree," says L, "but the Butcher would want us to think that. Of course that doesn't rule out vandals, either option is possible. I would like to speak with LaGuerta again before we agree on which path to follow. Also, I noticed on the way back to the station many of you on the phone with loved ones. A long time ago the original Kira task force was presented with an opportunity, to quit the investigation to protect themselves and they're families, without the possibility of losing their jobs. I will see to it that this same opportunity is presented to all members of Miami Metro."

Much of the station seems relieved by this announcement.

"L, I know this isn't a good time but my girlfriend called, she' taking her kids out of town and…"

"Whatever you need to do, then do it Dexter."

"Thanks, and don't worry, I'm staying here on this case. I wanna catch these sons of bitches."

***

I told Rita I'd get there early, we'd beat the rush together. But it seems as though Miami has started acting like you'd expect regular human beings to act. The roads are blocked in every direction, out of town, towards the airport, completely unmoving. I imagine the news tomorrow will mention an influx of American boats to Cuba. And here I am, trapped in a family sedan with a worried girlfriend and to frightened children in the back.

"Where are we going mommy?" says Cody.

"I told you sweetie, we're going to stay with grandma for a little while."

"But we don't like grandma." says Astor.

"I know you don't but we're just going somewhere safe, okay?"

"What about Dexter?" asks Cody.

"Me? I'm going to stay here, and help catch the bad men, make sure they can't hurt you little man!"

"Yay! Dexter's my new superhero!"

"I thought Kira and the Butcher only hurt bad people." Astor says.

"Well that's true. But we just want to make sure good people like the two of you aren't hurt by accident."

Rita smiles and me, then sighs and slumps back into her seat. "This traffic is unbelievable., even with…you know what happening. We literally haven't moved in fifteen minutes!"

"Well we can't do much else but wait at the moment."

Rita looks at me, as though she is about to give a response, but she is cut off by a loud buzzing coming from nearby.

"Is that an airplane?" she asks. "

"Sure sounds like it, but we're still nowhere near the airport. And it would have to be flying pretty low to make that kind of sound."

Looking out my driver's window, I can see it. A small passenger plane, about big enough to carry ten people is flying so low that it seems to be on the ground, headed straight for the highway. As it gets closer, it dawns on me, it isn't going to stop. Apparently it's dawning on others as well as screams come from the cars ahead of us and I can make out the figures of people trying to scramble from their vehicles.

It's too late for some of them, as the plane collides with the river of cars. The explosion deafens the screams and blinds me for a moment. When I open my eyes all I can see is the fire lighting up the twilight sky ahead, as though the sun is setting again.

"We aren't safe anywhere, are we?" says Rita.

***

It's past three in the morning by the time we fight the traffic back into Miami and back to Rita's place. The kids are already asleep when I drop them off.

"Goodnight Rita, stay safe."

"Thanks Dex, you too.

As I hit the road again, I am not heading back towards my apartment, but back to Miami Metro. The long drive back gave us plenty of time to listen to the radio, and once again every station is playing the same story. At eleven am this morning, three prisoners broke out of a local penitentiary by hiding in a laundry truck. Police have not yet been reached for comment, but it is believe that they used the hysteria following the Butcher's message and the heart attack victim to elude capture. By six pm, they had made their way to a small dirt strip airport. A pilot, Seth Palmer, met them there and took off in a light aircraft, where they flew it towards Miami Airport, crashing it approximately twenty minuets drive away onto the road that was filled with people trying to flee the city. Police are scarce at the moment, some citing a lack of sleep from the events of the last day, while other are being used to handle the riots that are breaking out. What few officers that could be spared have isolated the area, and are not reporting what they have found in the wreckage.

Luckily for me, Deb was one of those officers.

"It's a message bro." she said when she called me on the way back. "It's from Kira, its' fucking gotta be. 'You Had Your Chance'. It's spelled out with blood on the floor of the wreckage. Looks like they killed one another and wrote it. They were being manipulated by Kira somehow."

I'm going back to the station to run a search on the missing link, Seth Palmer. The prisoners all had criminal records, but Palmer, his name doesn't ring a bell. I need to know if Kira's killed an innocent man. And if palmer is guilty of some crime, I can find out how Kira learnt about it to take a step closer to uncovering who he is.

Breaking into work is easy, this isn't the first time I've done it to get info on a kill. I hit the lights, and it reveals something I didn't expect to see.

"Maria?"

"Dexter? What are you doing here?" says the lieutenant, looking shaken to the core.

"Me?…What about you? Aren't you supposed to be sick?"

"I haven't been sleeping lately. I came in…to work… I thought it might help take my mind off things."

I always feel relieved when someone says something that makes them sound crazy.

"What could you possible need to take your mind off that it would make you act…like this?"

"Dexter…what has L told you about what his team found out about Kira so far?"

"Nothing, we've just been working the butcher case, L seems to think if we catch one, we'll catch the other, even if they are fighting."

"Well, Kira must kill with supernatural powers, mustn't he? It's the only way what he does is possible, right?"

"I suppose. I never really thought about it."

"Right, well Soichiro, L's father, I was speaking to them and L told him to fill me in on everything, so he did. What he told me, has changed what I thought I knew about the world. Dexter, there are supernatural beings at work in this case."

"Supernatural forces? You mean like Moloch the Corruptor or something?'

"Don't be stupid Dexter. Well I guess he is a supernatural being, like Shinigami." she whispers.

"Shinigami?"

And then LaGuerta fills me in on everything. The first L. The DeathNote. The Shinigami. The Thirteen Rules. Light being suspected as Kira, and the investigation the first L took. Everything. It takes hours. The sun is rising outside the window and I gather she isn't remotely finished. It truly is mind-blowing, I can barely understand what she's telling me. I may need to take a sick day to take the time to comprehend what I've learnt here.

And yet, despite this crushing revelation, I feel…at ease. In the last twenty-four hours, it was exposed that the butcher is still active, Miami has been swept into a frenzy following Kira's attack at my message and near the airport, which I barely missed me, and I learned that that I am up against someone who not only wants to become a god, but truly has the power to do it.

But the cogs in my brain are already turning on my next plan, for I have a power that Kira doesn't. Knowledge. I know how Kira kills and I know everything that his task force knows, but he doesn't know that I do. With this information, I am finally ahead of Kira, and by miles as well. With this knowledge I can…

"Dexter? You're here early. And Maria, you're here to. Great to see your finally feeling better." says L entering the station.

"Oh, yeah well… I was just eager to get back onto this case, you know, after all that happened yesterday."

"Excellent. Well then would you mind stepping with me into Maria's office, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you about a personal investigation I've been conducting, into one Lila Tourney."


	5. Chapter 5

**Light:**

The Bay Harbor Butcher's made it clear he's not interested in my cause. A war is coming to Miami, so the sooner I find him the better. All I know so far is that Lilah Tourney was a Butcher fanatic. She was also overly interested in this police department, especially two of its members, Dexter Morgan and Angel Batista. Is it possible that Special Agent Lundy was right when his investigation lead him to this very department? Did he overlook a killer in one of these two men and instead look to Sergeant Doakes? Or is the Butcher someone from outside the department, who sent his biggest fan in to cause turmoil, throw the FBI off his trail, or maybe even take down someone who was on to him? With her dead, there are only two leads, the two people she was harassing, and luckily, one of them was already here when I came into the office this morning.

"Dexter Morgan...it feels like it's been forever. Please, sit down."

"Really? I saw you just the other day at the butcher shop scene." he says nervously, taking the seat in front of LaGuerta's desk.

"I know, but when you're as busy as me, a day can seem like months."

He chuckles slightly, then sits in an awkward silence for a moment before I break the quiet.

"So let's not waste anymore time. Lilah Tourney..."

He shifts uncomfortably.

"Not happy memories I presume?"

"No...definitely not. Lilah...Lilah was..."

"...a lunatic?"

A giant grin spreads across his face as he slumps back in his chair at ease.

"Absolutely! She was...obsessed..."

"Obsessed? With what?" I ask.

"Me. Then Angel" He says, his smile slowly fading, "Then with trying to destroy us and anything she could touch; my girlfriends kids, Angel's career."

"And why was she obsessed with you?"

"I have no idea. She was crazy, probably the same thing that made her obsessed with Angel."

"Hmm...okay, I just thought you might have an idea since you were the one who met her. In the narcotics anonymous program I believe?"

After another short pause he answers with the same calm determination he always shows, except now it's telling me he's uncomfortable and that I'm pressing on something secret.

"Yes, I was in the program...I met Lilah there. She would come into the station to see me. She met Angel..."

"Dexter, stop talking about her and Sergeant Batista, I'll talk to him about that. Right now I need to know about you and her."

"Well, what else do you need to know?"

"Everything Dexter, she's the only lead I have to finding the Butcher."

He pauses for a moment; I can tell he's choosing his words carefully.

"I entered the program when Rita, my girlfriend found out about my addiction." He starts without any emotion. "She told me to seek help. I met Lilah there, she became my sponsor, she made me believe I could be my true self around her. I haven't felt that freedom since I became an addict, and I was going out of my mind with withdrawal, so I slept with Lilah after Rita and I had a fight. But when I tried to make things right with Rita, she forgot about me and pursued Angel."

"How quickly did she and Sergeant Angel get together?"

"Almost immediately, I think she was looking for a rebound."

"You think? Maybe she was trying to make you jealous and get you back."

"I suppose that's a possibility too."

"Regardless, it seems like she was caused a lot of trouble. I imagine you weren't too broken up when you found out about her murder?"

"She was murdered?" he asks with calm surprise.

"You hadn't heard?"

"No. After she tried to frame Angel for rape my sister confronted her, told her to leave Miami and that's the last I heard of her."

"Your sister told her to leave?"

"Yeah, she hated Lilah more that anyone."

"Interesting. You see, Lilah was found murdered in Paris, and given how instrumental she is to the Butcher case, my guess is that the Butcher knew she was there."

"So you think Debra is the Bay Harbor Butcher?"

"No" I laugh, "It seems very unlikely, but this interview should help me on the right track to finding out who it is for sure."

"Oh, ok. Well how much longer will it take?" he asks with faint optimism.

"Don't worry, I can tell how hard it is to talk about such a hard time so I just have a few more questions for you."

"Shoot."

"When your relationship with Lilah ended, did she cease being your sponsor as well?"

"Yes she did. What does that have to do with anything?"

"You just seem very...nonresponsive."

"I've been clean for months if that's what you're saying."

"I'm sorry for implying anything, I was just curious. Lastly, how was your professional relationship with James Doakes?"

"Doakes? I thought you were asking me about Lilah."

"I am. I discovered that Lilah was likely involved with both Doakes' death and the Butcher. I need to figure out how they're connected."

"Well", he says bluntly, "Doakes and I never really got along. I never really got to know him."

"Very well. You can go now Dexter. If you see Sergeant Angel, please send him in."

His calmness finally breaks as he quickly leaves LaGuerta's office, finally showing how desperately uncomfortable he was.

_"You think it's him?"_ hisses Ryuk from behind me.

"It doesn't seem likely. The Bay Harbor Butcher only kills criminals; he's probably guided by some thirst for vengeance or moral code or desire for justice like me. A junkie wouldn't kill for any reason other than for money or from pure insanity. But still Dexter doesn't show a lot of the qualities of an addict apart from the emotional numbness."

"You think he's emotionless? Maybe he's just the quiet type."

"He mentions his girlfriend with no affection in his voice, and he barely reacted to any of the questions I asked him."

"So you're going to rule of the junkie then."

"If he's even a junkie. He was in an out of the program too quick. Even if he relapsed he still would have attended more sessions if he was at least trying to quit. He was definitely feeling uneasy for more reasons than one."

"You wanted to see me L?" says Sergeant Batista poking his head through the office door.

"Yes, Sergeant Batistsa, pleas sit down. I'd like to talk to you about Lilah."

"Aw jeez. I hoped that bitch was behind me. She hasn't come back has she?" he asks half joking as he takes a seat.

"No she hasn't come back Sergeant Batista," I laugh to reassure him. "I just believe that she's the next step towards finding the Butcher's true identity."

"You still don't think it was Doakes do ya?" he asks with slight skepticism. He's clearly convinced himself of the lie that Doakes is the only logical Butcher. "Well if Lilah's your lead, then why don't you go ask her yourself? You're the world's greatest detective; surely you can track her down." He's showing the same discomfort as Dexter.

"Unfortunately I can't Sergeant Batista..."

"Please, just call me Angel."

"Well Angel, I'm afraid Lilah was found murdered in Paris and..."

"Murdered?" he interrupts again, "Jesus, I mean the bitch was evil, but...fuck man, I don't think she deserved that."

Interesting, he has a righteous sense of justice...

"Regardless, with her and Doakes both dead, the only people I have left to question are the last people who held connections with her."

"Whoa hombre, I don't know if I'd call what we had a connection. I just thought she was hot is all. When she broke up with Dexter she hooked up with me to make him jealous."

"You think she just wanted to make him jealous?"

"Nah I'm sure of it. It was obvious right away; I just went with it to get into her panties. But before I got anywhere...there was this incident..."

"When she tried to frame you for rape?"

"Yes." he says relieved to not have to tell the tale. "Then she tried to use it to score sympathy with Dex, but he'd already realized what a crazy bitch she was, so...she just kind of disappeared."

"Hmm...are you sure she was trying to get back with Dexter? Can you think of any other reasons she would do that to you? Any reasons she might want to hurt you or your credibility?"

RING! RING!

I look at the caller I.D. on my cell phone; it's the next person I wanted to talk to.

"Well Sergeant...I mean Angel, I'm afraid I'll have to cut this interview short. But you've given me enough information to think about. I'll see you again later if I have any further questions for you."

"Thank god, I hope you do, I hate even thinking about that bitch, let alone talking bout her."

...

It's been a while since I've had to drive a car myself. One of the perks of my status in the Kira Task Force is one of the other agents, usually Mogi, is willing to take me to wherever I need to be. But this time I need to be alone with the two people who will help me carry out my next move against the Butcher. Well one person and one Shinigami.

"Light!" squeals Misa, "Where are we going?"

"Up to where that plane crashed last night." I reply. "I sent some officers to the scene immediately. And apparently they've found something."

_"Ooh, maybe they're on to you Light."_ Ryuk hisses sarcastically.

"That's impossible. But I need to keep up appearances and interview one of the officers there anyway."

"_Another interview?" _he protests, "_This is getting a little boring don't you think, Light? When does the fun begin?"_

"Soon Ryuk, be patient. This is the last one, I promise. Once I'm done, I'll tell you how the fun begins."

...

The mangled wreckage of the plane lies crushed into the road before me, it's tail sticking up into the air indicating it was a nose dive. Two totaled cars are jammed underneath it, their doors sawed off to remove whatever they could find of the bodies inside. I sent Matsuda and Aizawa here to 'investigate' last night, along with two members of Miami Metro.

"Light! You made it!" exclaims Matsuda.

"There wasn't much traffic. People are too afraid to try leaving again, and the amount of people coming into Miami has dropped to nearly zero. All the people trapped here could become caught in the crossfire if we don't stop this soon. So tell me, what did your team find?"

"Well it wasn't us, Light. It was that girl from the department, Debra."

"Good, I need to talk with her."

She's standing closer to the wreckage talking to the short annoying man I remember meeting at the cabin site.

"Yeah it's cool to be on the world's greatest task force," I can hear him say as I walk over, "But there's nothing else here! We should be hunting Kira, not hanging around some messed up plane."

"Masuka, isn't it?" I ask.

"Uhh...yes, Light sir! We were just discussing what we'd uncovered."

"Shut the fuck up Masuka, I'm the one who noticed it." says Debra.

"And what exactly did you find Detective Morgan?"

"Well we didn't exactly find anything, but I did notice something weird about the crash. There weren't any victims."

"What?"

"I mean apart from the escapees and the pilot who killed each other to write that message, no civilians were killed."

"Well not yet," says Masuka, "two of the people in the cars that were hit were still in hospital in a critical condition the last time were heard from the doctors."

Of course, the one of the rules Death Note is that no incidental Deaths can occur from what is written. So as long as how I kill remains a mystery to them, this piece of information is harmless.

"Interesting, it seems that Kira may be unable to kill people as an indirect result of whom he intends to kill. Good work Detective Morgan."

"Holy fuck! Praise from the motherfucking head of the Kira force! Dex isn't fucking gonna believe this!"

"Jeez, calm the fuck down Morgan; you wouldn't be the one getting praise if there was any forensic evidence here!"

"Shut the fuck up Masuka, you're just jealous."

"Enough, you two. It doesn't matter who made the find. All that's important is that we're one step closer to bringing down Kira. Now, Masuka, if you wouldn't mind giving my associates a hand, I need to speak with detective Morgan. Alone."

"Yeah sure it doesn't matter. You just want her alone to give her a fucking medal or something." he mumbles to himself as he walks off.

"I heard that Masuka!" she yells after him. "Never mind him. So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Lilah West."

"Aw fuck. That bitch? Did she fucking come back! Is she in league with Kira? I fucking knew it, that cunt was evil!"

"No Morgan. However I believe she knew the true identity of the Bay Harbor Butcher, but she was found murdered in Paris not long after Doakes was killed."

"Murdered? I don't believe anyone deserves to be killed, but yeah, she had it coming."

How callous. My other suspects haven't shown that level of hate. And yet it's too straight forward to implicate her.

"I just need to ask you a few questions about your brother's relationship with her. Apparently you were the one who asked her to leave?"

"Yeah. She was fucking up my brother's life and his relationship with his girlfriend, Rita. Then when he finally came to his senses, she decided to go fuck with Sergeant Angel to get back with him. She was causing so much shit so I stood up to the bitch and sent her packing."

"Surely it can't have all been bad though. Didn't she help you brother overcome his drug addiction?"

"Addiction? Listen, I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but Dexter has never taken drugs!" She yells with an honest rage, "I'm his fucking sister! I've known him his whole fucking life! And trust me, even after that fucking mess that cunt Lilah made, he still wouldn't even think about going near junk you cocksucker!"

"I'm sorry" I say, maintaining my composure, "Could you tell me how Dexter and Lilah met then?"

"No. I don't know. That skank just showed up as soon as Dexter and Rita broke up."

"You never thought they might have known each other for longer?"

"No, I never wanted to think about that bitch again."

"I hear that a lot about her."

"Exactly, all she did was fuck shit up! As if she could have been anyone's sponsor! Let alone Dexter's, who was never in the fucking program! Rita would have known about it if he was for one thing."

"Well, when I interviewed Dexter this morning, he said he entered the program under pressure from his girlfriend, so maybe you should speak to her about it."

"Fine!" she yells, storming off, "I will! I'll prove you wrong! Some detective you are. Can't even get your facts straight about the kindest person I know!"

…

It starts to rain on the drive back. The sky is completely grey with clouds. It seems almost fitting for what I plan to do tomorrow night.

"_Well, spill it Light! What are your plans for catching the Butcher?"_ Ryuk asks impatiently as soon as we start driving.

"Dexter Morgan is unlike anyone I've ever met. He seems void of emotion, yet he has a girlfriend and sister who care about him, who he tries to better himself for. But he keeps secrets too, secrets I can't figure out. Angelo Batista is the opposite. He wears his heart on his sleeve, but his history shows he went through a divorce and lost custody of his child. A killer would want to forge emotional connections, but would definitely lose them, like Angel did. Plus he believes in justice. Debra Morgan believes in justice the same way, she looks out for people who need help, and deals with people who cause problems, like the Butcher, but on a more human level."

"_SO! Which one is it then?" _he demands.

"I don't know. It could be any of them. It could be none of them."

"_What! We went through all that and we're not any closer? What are you going to do then Light? Are you just going to write all three of their names down and hope that one of them is the Butcher?"_

"No. I need to be positive that the Butcher is dead. That's why tomorrow night; I'm going to lead them into a trap. Misa, I'm going to need your help. I'm going to gather the three of them in one place, then you're going to use the Death Note to force the Bay Harbor Butcher to expose their identity."

"_Now this," _says Ryuk with a smile widening across his face, "_Sounds like it's finally going to start getting interesting!"_


	6. Chapter 6

**Dexter**

Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. In the red corner, the world's most infamous serial killer, who as I just found out can kill anyone with a magic notebook just by knowing their name and face. In the blue corner, the world's best detectives, looking for me because they think the other guy wants to find me too. And standing in the middle of the ring there's me.

I've already dodged one bullet. Yesterday L interviewed me looking for leads on the Butcher, and he didn't come to any conclusions about me, so I must be safe for now. But when that bell rings for round two and the punches start flying, I can't just sit back and hope I'm lucky enough for them to miss me again. I need to make sure I survive.

That's what I've been daydreaming to myself at work all day. I have the time; homicide has been quite ever since the plane crash. Miami became virtually crime free once its people realized they were in Kira's sight. So people just go about their lives as usual, they just want to survive for now, like me. But how could anyone survive a situation like mine?

I can't just kill L; the code of Harry wouldn't let me. I could try digging up some dirt on him to see if he fits the code, but that would take time I don't have right now. For now, I need to focus on Kira, I know how he kills and there's a way to use it to my advantage, I just need to figure out what it is first. Once I have I can eliminated Kira and turn my attention towards convincing the world that the Bay Harbor Butcher is gone again. If I'm lucky, L might even leave once expose Kira, but it's a bit too much to hope that I can take the both of them out at once.

But what do I do with my knowledge of Kira? How can I use it to find out who he or she is? And once I know Kira's identity, what then? I could just kill Kira, but then the world will never know the deed had been done. I suppose I should find I way to give the information to L on the off chance he'll leave me alone, but that could risk exposing who I really am. No, I'm thinking too far ahead. Yes, Harry told me to have a plan, but the first step is to always know my target.

Ok, think Dexter…Obviously I need to lure Kira into some kind of trap. Find a target for Kira, and make sure I'm there when he pulls the trigger, or writes the name as it were. But how can I make sure that…

"Dexter?" asks L looking slightly pleased as he pokes his head through the door to my lab, "are you busy?"

"No. Why, did you want to talk to me about something?"

"Yes actually. Whenever you're ready, come meet me in Lieutenant LaGuerta's office."

About a minute later that's where I am, sitting in a chair in front of LaGuerta's desk. Angel is sitting in the chair next to me, and there's another chair, empty, next to him. L went towards the elevators when he left my lab, I imagine to find the person he wants to fill that seat.

"So what do you think L wants with us hombre?"

"I don't know. Maybe he wants to interview us together now."

"Geez I hope not. I swear I felt so nervous being interviewed by that guy. I know I got nothing to hide, but to think that guy might suspect one of us is the butcher…"

"Sorry to make you wait gentlemen. I just went to get the third member of this group. Luckily I ran into her as she was on her way up." He says as she follows him into the office.

"Deb?"

Angel looks as surprised as I am. "Don't tell me he's been questioning you too Morgan."

"Yeah what of it?"

"Everybody relax." says L taking the seat behind LaGuerta's desk. "Yes it happens that all three of you were interviewed as I pursued leads on Lilah Tourney's connection to the Bay Harbor Butcher. And yes I did want to investigate those in this department with connections to her to test Frank Lundy's theory that the Butcher was someone in this department."

"You fucker, you thought I was the mother-fucking butcher?" yells Deb.

"No. But I couldn't be too certain without talking to you all first. However, having done so, I feel safe in telling you all, that I don't believe any of you three are the Bay Harbor Butcher." He says in a manner that tells me he wants us to trust him. But that fact means he doesn't trust us, he's still not sure.

Angel slips back into his seat relaxed upon hearing this, but Deb still looks furious at the accusation.

"It's taken you this long to figure out that us three aren't the Butcher? Jesus fucking Christ, no wonder you're the world's best detective! Only a fucking genius could have worked that one out!" she says sarcastically.

"But that's not why I asked you three here." L goes on ignoring her, "You're also three of the most talented officers in this department."

Deb calms down. She looks a little pleased with herself now.

"Technically I'm not an officer. I'm forensics" I correct him.

"One of the best forensics I've ever worked with." He counters. He clearly doesn't want me here for my skill. "Also, I took a look at your record. Your college studies seem to indicate that you definitely could have gone into the detective field. And from what I've heard around the station, you've definitely lent a few ideas that helped solve some cases."

"So what are we here for then?" asks Angel.

"I'd like to give you three the chance to work closer to me."

"You mean you want us officially on the Kira Task Force?" says Deb, barely holding back her excitement.

"Yes I do."

"YES!" she cheers under her breath while doing a fist pump. Like I said, finesse was never her strong suit.

"But first I need you all to pass a test, to make sure that you're up to the challenge."

"Test? What kind of test?" asks Angel.

"You might have noticed, and Dexter mentioned to me earlier, crime in Miami has plummeted to an almost non-existent state. But just because there's no crime, doesn't mean there aren't any criminals."

"So you want us to go out and find some criminals trying to act clean?" asks Deb eagerly.

"There's no need, my team has already done that."

Deb slumps back disappointed.

"My father, Aizawa and Mogi have been tracking a few higher profile suspects in their free time here, mostly suspected mobster and traffickers. Ever since Kira arrived in this city, a lot of the people they've been tailing have started gathering regularly at a small bar down near the docks, along with dozens of other people who have ever committed a crime in this city. Kind of like a club for people who are afraid they're potential victims."

"Holy shit!" shouts Deb almost leaping out of her chair, "You found a fuckload of criminals just gathered in one place? Imagine all the scumbags we could take down at once! I bet some of them don't even have records!"

"Yes, but I'm afraid you won't be able to do that until I've close by investigation."

"What? Why the fuck not?"

"Right now this is the only lead we on both cases. There's a chance the Butcher will find out about this place and use it for potential marks, and if we know about it, Kira definitely knows about it."

"So what are we going to do then?" asks Angel.

"We are going to go down there tonight to try and find anyone suspicious." Replies L.

"Someone suspicious in a crowd of criminals? Seriously?" retorts Deb.

"I'm hoping that someone like Kira or the Butcher would stand out even more. Someone looking for targets would behave different to someone there to just seek comfort."

"And what if they are there and they figure out who we are?" asks Deb, worried "And even if Kira or the Butcher aren't, we're still cops, someone there's bound to recognize us."

"She's right, L" adds Angel, "This is a pretty big risk you want us to take, and there's only a small chance we'll catch one of them there. How can you expect us to take that risk?"

"I've already given you the chance to leave this investigation for your safety." answers L, "That opportunity is still there. But if you'd like the opportunity to bring justice to two of the most evil people in the world, not to mention working with the top investigative team in the world for your resumes, then meet me here at eight o'clock sharp." he says, slipping a small piece of paper with an address on it onto the desk.

He gets up and walks over to the door. "Don't let me down." he says as he close it behind him.

We sit in stunned silence for a moment, before Deb picks up the slip of paper and holds it out in front of her. Angel and I lean over to take a look.

"Damn, that's a bad neighbor guys, no wonder." says Angel.

"We have to go though, don't we?" asks Deb sounding a little worried like she needs us to convince her just that little bit more. "For justice and to catch the bad guys? Right?"

"I dunno." says Angel. "I mean I know those fuckers need to be caught. But I don't know if I can risk my safety like that, y'know?"

"I'm going." I say. "I still don't really get what L wants with me there, but I need to make sure that Rita and the kids are safe, and I can help by make sure that those two…fuckers get caught."

"Do you listen brother?" asks Deb proudly, "He's heard of the insight you've lent to our cases, insight that's lead to the capture of more criminals than probably anyone else here. God know I wouldn't be as good a cop as I am without that noggin of yours. I'll go too, we're in this together Dex."

"I guess that makes three of us." says Angel with cautious confidence.

Quaint is a good word to describe this bar. It's small, though not uncomfortable. The time is five minutes to eight. Angel, Deb and myself are at a smallish round table in the middle of the floor, we came here together. L's still not here yet, I guess when he said eight sharp he meant it.

There's maybe fifty other people here, about capacity for a place this size, all of them with some crime to their name. I even recognize one or two of them, though not from my private life, from my genuine police work. It's weird.

"Fucking hell. See that guy over there in the blue shirt?' asks Deb, pointing to a skinny person drinking a beer near the door.

"Yeah, what about him?"

"He was a suspect in a double homicide I was investigating about six months ago, but his alibi was air-tight. Guess he wasn't so innocent after all then."

"Maybe. But he could be here for something else; maybe he killed someone else instead." I point out.

"Fuck, I don't really want to think about what anyone here might have done right now. " Deb shudders at the thought. "Once we've caught the Butcher and Kira, then we can worry about everyone here, like L said. Where is he any…?"

"I'm sorry did you just say Kira?" says a nerdy looking guy sitting alone at the table next to ours.

"Um, yeah she did. What of it?" asks Angel.

"Nothing!" he says, somehow taking this as an invitation to join us and take the empty seat at our table meant for L. "I mean, it's just scary, y'know? He's the reason we're all here isn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose it is." I tell him holding back a smile. "But aren't you worried about everyone being in one place? Seems to me it would be like shooting fish in a barrel for someone like Kira."

"No way man." He says, adjusting his glasses. "Safety in numbers, am I right? And you guys must think so too, you wouldn't have come if you thought there was danger huh?"

The three of us nod and mumble in agreement, staring at the table in front of us.

"So what did you guys do?" he asks eagerly. "I hit some guy with my car, drove off and didn't look back." He says almost proud.

"Uhh…yeah me too." Says Angel.

"I killed some sanky prostitute trying to steal from me." Says Deb, drawing experience form her time in vice.

"Yeah, uhh, I killed my heroin dealer when he stopped giving me the good stuff. Just outside this bar in fact" If it worked for Rita, it should work for this guy. Out of the corner of the eye I think I see Deb shoot me a suspicious look.

"Hey that reminds me," says Deb looking interested again, "how did you find out about this place anyway?"

"How did I find out about it?" he snorts with surprise, "The same way you did I imagine! You guys saw the ad in the paper right?'

I slip an awkward look to Deb, who does the same to me and Angel. "What ad?" she asks.

"Seriously?" the man asks, "There's been these messages in newspaper ads, I only noticed it two weeks ago. It said it was from some guy who accidentally killed some other guy, and he was hoping to sell this here bar to help pay his legal expenses. But it also said he was hoping to sell it to someone who 'sympathized' with his situation and who hates Kira."

"That doesn't seem very subtle." Points out Angel.

"Hey that's just me! It was more elegant in the ad, trust me."

"So you came here to buy a bar?" I ask.

"No way. I just liked the sound of the guy. It would have been good to meet the guy, but instead I found all these other people in the same situation. We're like the anti-Kira union or something!"

"So you never actually met the man who posted the ad?"

"Nah, 'fraid not. Some of us reckon Kira got him. According to the bar tender those ads have been running since about two weeks before Kira was supposed to have arrived in Miami. Plus he says he's never even met the guy, apparently he only started working here 'round that time."

That idiot. How could he nor realize? I look over at Deb and Angel, they have the same looks over horror on their faces. After a few seconds, I can't stand it anymore, I break the silence and ask what the three of us are thinking.

"Someone that no one has ever met…has been sending out an invitation for criminals to gather at this bar…and this started just before Kira came to Miami? And you didn't think it might be a trap?" I get out of my chair so quickly it knocks over loudly enough to attract the attention of the rest of the bar's patrons.

I look at my watch, still only seven fifty-nine. "We need to get the fuck out of here." I say to Deb and Angel, who get to their feet as quickly as me, without saying a word.

"Hey! HEY! Where do you think you guys are going?" the man demands "You guys are over reacting! Kira hasn't killed anyone who's come to this bar! I didn't even get any of your names anyway! Mine is-"

Time stands still for a moment. The hustle of the bar and ambient conversation is beyond silence to me right now. The man's eyes scream from beneath his glasses, his left arm points straight down, completely rigid, his right arm shakes with thousands of tiny tremors. As it moves up to grab his chest I hear Deb gasp and Angel swear, less than a second late and they've realized what's happening too. His glasses fall from his face at the moment his hand grabs his heart through his chest, and he lets out an dry, painful wheeze. His glasses fall for hours, and when they finally hit the table, the tiny shatter of glass breaking signals the alarm, and a blonde woman in a booth to herself screams from across the room as the man begins to fall.

"GO!" yells Deb, breaking me out of my stupor. And without a second thought, I join them, and the rest of the people here in the stampede for the door.

Its five minutes past eight. The area has been sealed off and no one is allowed to leave until everyone has been questioned.

"You three had nothing to worry about." Says L after getting our accounts of what happened. "I had my men on watch outside the bar the whole time. And we're now closer to catching Kira than we've ever been before! Either he was someone in that bar, or he knew the man who he had selected the man he killed earlier, in which case we just need to examine his past!"

"So what? We we're just bait to you then?" Deb accuses him.

"No, I meant to test you as possible candidates for my task force. Things…just went better than planned for me. But as my way of saying thanks, I'll see to it that you three get to work closer with my team from now on. It's the least I can do."

"Yeah, the least…fucker." Mutters Deb under her breath. I smile and turn to the right to acknowledge her, when I see something over her shoulder.

"Uhh, hey L?"

"Yes, Dexter?'

"No one from inside has been allowed to leave this scene right?"

"Of course not. Only officers are allowed to cross the police tape. That's standard."

"Good. Um, do you mind if I get going? I should really let my girlfriend know that I'm ok."

"Of course. You are all free to go whenever you feel."

"Damn straight we are." Says Deb, immediately taking off and heading back to her car.

"Yeah, sorry about her." I say to L.

"Not a problem."

"See you tomorrow then. L, Angel…"

And without waiting for a response, I head straight for the alley way across the street. Once I'm out of the street lights, I break into a run for the other side. I saw them go this way. I know I did. I make it to the other end. My heart's racing. It couldn't possibly have been this easy could it? I see the person I'm looking for crossing the road into the park.

"Hey!" I call out to them.

The blonde woman who screamed in the bar turns around to meet my gaze from across the road as I hurry over to meet her.

"What is it mister?" she asks me with a sunny disposition, and yet the slightest hint of fear in her voice.

"You were in that bar just now, weren't you?"

"Um… no I wasn't! I'm just out for a light night stroll! That's all!" she says as perky as before.

"It's ok, you don't have to lie me, I'm a police officer." I tell her, displaying my badge as proof. "You know that head police officer back there? L, he told me you could go, he just asked me to make sure that you get home safe."

She breathes an incredible sigh of relief. "Oh did he really? That was so nice of him! Thank you mister!" that was too easy. Is this woman really so gullible that she'd believe she'd get special treatment from a random officer?

"So," I ask her as we begin to walk alone through the pitch black park, "are you a writer?"

"What? Why would you think that? I'm a model, obviously!" she gloats.

"Well I just couldn't help noticing you writing in that notebook you have in your bag."

She clutches the bag hanging from her shoulder tightly in her arms, as if to protect some terrible secret inside.

"It's an interesting looking notebook. I noticed a woman who looks just like you with the same notebook at another crime scene a few days ago."

She stops dead in her tracks, still clutching her bag like the world's most precious treasure.

"You're a police officer…right?" she stammers out. "You were there to catch Kira…weren't you?"

"We sure were." I say cheerfully, trying to get her to drop her guard. "But it's impossible. I mean according to L, no one even know how Kira kills people."

She seems to buy this and relaxes herself, letting her bag swing back to her side, and resuming her walk again.

"I know, right?" she says like she's sharing gossip, "I mean, heart attack super-powers? I don't even believe in that sort of thing!"

"Exactly!" I agree "And even if Kira was there, I didn't think I'd have a chance at catching him." I stop walking, and let her get one step out in front of me. "But luckily…I brought my toys just in case."

"What do you mean?" she asks as I slide the needle into her neck.

It's after midnight when she comes around.

"Wha..What? Where am I? What's going on? Is this…oh no, not again!" she screams, struggling to move, but unable to, being bound to my table.

"You're in an abandoned warehouse. There's quite a few of them around here. It wasn't hard to find one and set this room up." I say, patrolling around the table. "As for what's going on...that's a Deathnote you have isn't it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Mr. Stalker! Just please let me go! I swear I won't tell anyone that you're the butcher!"

"Well, you figured that out easier that I expected." I say, continuing to circle her like a vulture.

"I can feel the plastic on my skin…he told me that's how you get people…"

"He, you mean the first Kira?"

"You…you know that there's another one?"

"I know a lot more than he thinks he knows. I have some inside information that I got from a friend of a friend."

"So…if you know I'm not really Kira…will you let me go then?"

"You may not be the official Kira, but you still use that notebook to kill. You're a terrorist. All you want is global domination."

"No I don't! That's him! And he's all I want! See Mr. Butcher, there's a lot more you don't know about him! And if you let me go I can help you!"

"Fine." I lie to her, "Who is Kira?"

"I…I can't say…" she cries, before suddenly gaining the steadfast resolution that I've seen all my victims get when they accept what's about to happen, "NO! I won't let you get him! And if you try and kill me then he'll find you and kill you and then he'll make Ryuk find a way to bring me back and-"

She gasps a few times, before it turns into a hacking cough that sends blood flying from her mouth. Her fingers twitch beneath their bonds, trying to find some inch of life to grab onto, before giving up, and falling back to the table as their master dies.

"He won't find me. I'll find him first. It's just survival." I tell her, but she doesn't hear.

I don't sleep that night. The scene has been cleared, the body disposed of. I briefly considered leaving it to send a message, but I'm sure her missing will send the message I need to.

I'm sitting at my computer desk, going through the notebook I pulled from the girl's bag. It's weird, I never even knew her name, but i know what she's done. I have the proof in my hands, hundreds upon hundreds of names, mostly in Japanese, all of them victims to some deranged little girl trying to impress an even more deranged psychopath.

I study it for what seems like hours, the rules inside the cover, the names inside, hoping to find some clue that will give me the next step I need towards finding the true Kira, but I have no luck, nothing I didn't already learn from LaGuerta. I'm too tired to think straight, maybe if I go to bed I can manage to fall asleep, and once I'm well rested I can crack the mystery of the notebook.

I set the Deathnote down on my desk, and switch of the lamp I was using to read it, when I hear a chilling, otherworldly voice from behind me that shakes me to my very core.

"It's funny, you know…that Deathnote…it used to be mine…" it laughs.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Light**_

"Misa, do you understand?"

"Yes, of course I do, Light."

"Then repeat it back to me."

"Oh Light, not again."

"Yes. Once more, I need to know that you understand what you're doing."

Misa sighs and collapses backwards into the couch of my hotel room. She's not tired, though if anyone could get worn out by spending all day shopping and sunbathing it would be Misa. She's just frustrated that now that I've finally brought her in on my plan to find the Bay Harbor Butcher she has to do something.

"Please Misa, for me." But as long as she worships me, she'll do anything.

She sighs again, happier this time, as I remind her that in her mind I belong to her. "Fine. I'll wait at that bar. When I see those three cops I'll watch them, and if anyone starts talking to them I'll right their name down."

"No!" I complain with the little energy I can muster. It's been tiring between 'investigating' that plane crash today and going over my plan with her. "Do not write any names down before I arrive at eight o'clock. Sharp. If you do there will be panic and everyone will evacuate before I even arrive.

"But Light, what if…?"

"Under no circumstances Misa." I say firmly. "I need time to talk with them, to see which one figures out that the bar is a trap from Kira and to see their responses, it's crucial in figuring out which one of them is the Butcher. Now start again…"

"Light…Light? Are you okay Light?"

I don't respond. The silence would be deafening were it not for the constant ringing of phones and ambient conversation from outside LaGuerta's office.

"I…I'm fine. She's only been missing for three days. She might still be alive somewhere." I say, almost trying to believe it, by the rest of my taskforce can tell.

"Light," says my father stepping forward for the group, "we're in the middle of a war, that's what you keep telling us. We can't keep searching for her. One of them has a lead on us, and once they realize who she was, they will take us all out." The rest of the team stares down at their toes at this thought, hoping to look inconspicuous enough to dodge this bullet. "And without us…if Kira wins, then there won't be anyone to keep him from ruling the world."

"We know this much," pipes up Matsuda, hoping to sound enthusiastic, "it had to have been the Butcher. If it were Kira, we would have found her by now. But clearly the Butcher has made sure no one will find her, like he always does."

I squirm in my chair just enough for them to notice.

"Sorry Light. I didn't mean to." He apologizes before finding his confidence again, "But your father's right! We need to follow this lead before it's too late!"

"Fine then." I say calmly while trying to act like its hard, "Go and start investigating Misa…just give me some time alone."

"But Light, son, we need our leader."

"You're in charge then. Now please, just leave me."

My father sighs. "Fine. But only because I know I won't change your mind right now. As soon as you're ready to find the people that did this to Misa, you take over again."

He leaves the office, disappointed, the rest of the Kira Task Force following behind him. As they reach the elevator, I draw the blinds so that the room is covered in shadows.

"_Well then,"_ he says from over my shoulder, _"We're all alone now. I suppose you'd like to ask me something."_

"I sent you to watch her! To make sure nothing went wrong! You must have seen something!" I demand.

"_Whoa Light, relax. I didn't realize you'd miss her this much. Whatever happened to just using her as a piece in your little game?"_

"She was…" I stammer looking for the right words, "a very important part of my design…It's not merely a setback, I'm going to rule this world and I've just lost my queen in a battle of wits with some trivial serial killer. Now tell me what you saw!" I yell.

"_I saw a lot of things that night. Where would you like me to start?"_

"Just," I begin, calming down,"…start at the beginning. Tell me why she killed that man against my orders."

"_Someone was talking to the other officers, and they were starting to look concerned. She was worried that once they realized Kira had set a trap and you had sent them into it, they would think you were Kira."_

"Impossible." I sigh, "No one would think that unless they knew I was suspected of being Kira once, and I've kept that information from Miami metro."

"_Maybe you should have told her that. Maybe then she wouldn't have waited around afterwards to try and explain herself to you."_

"She didn't leave immediately either?"

"_Nope. She wanted to tell you she was sorry for ruining your plan. But when you showed up she left anyway. She thought you'd be too mad to listen to her. And that's when the Butcher got her."_

"So you did see the Butcher then?" I know I don't have a chance, but I try my luck anyway. "Are you going to tell me who it is?"

"_You know I won't do that Light." _He laughs, "_Just like with Ray Pember, you have to figure it out. It's not much of a game if someone just tells you what your opponent's next move is."_

"I figured you'd say that." I sigh. But I can't hold back the grin that follows as it occurs to me. "You know Ryuk, I think you will uncover the Butcher's identity for me."

"_I just said no, Light. And nothing you can do will change my mind. Not even if you threatened to ban apples in your new world. So how do you plan on doing that?"_

I pretend ignore his question and pull my cell phone from my pocket, hitting a number on speed dial. "Lieutenant LaGuerta? Could you please send Angel Batista and Dexter and Debra Morgan into your office please?"

The near constant smile on Ryuk's face lives up to the near in its description as it shrinks into a rare look of discomfort. _"Actually, I don't need to see how you do it. And I, uh, have things I need to do, so I'll just be going now."_

"Actually Maria, I won't be needing to see them just now. Thank you." I hang up the phone and look back at Ryuk. He has exactly the same expression as a moment ago. "You're a Shinigami, Ryuk. What errands could you possibly need to run?"

"_Well, you see I…"_

I interrupt him. "I figure whoever killed Misa probably took her DeathNote. And whoever is its new owner would be able to see you now too. The only reason you have to run is because one of those three people is the Butcher, and once they see you, they'll be too shocked to avoid giving it away."

"_Well congratulations Light," _he laughs as the monstrous grin returns, "_you've finally made me a piece in your game. I guess I'm going to have to start leaving the room whenever those three are around."_

"Hold on a minute Ryuk." I say thinking quickly. "You may not want to help me directly, but what if I made it interesting for you?"

"_Depends on how interesting you're thinking, but I'm listening."_

"Has the Butcher seen you yet?"

"_Yes. I paid him a visit the night they killed Misa."_

"And regardless of what I ask of you, you'll continue keeping an eye on them wont you?"

"_Of course. It'll be more fun getting to watch both sides. But what are you planning Light?"_

"I'm going to use the same trick L tried to use on me long ago. But where it failed for him, it will work for me. The next time you speak to the Bay Harbor Butcher, I just need you do to me one small favor."

"_Well what is it already?"_

"Tell the Bay Harbor Butcher that Light Yagami is Kira."

"_WHAT!" _he yells load enough that the entire station would be able to hear him if they could even tell he was here. He looks shocked enough that he'd need to sit down if he were tangible. But the shock quickly wears off and he begins cackling almost as loud as his shock. "_Hehehe, sure thing Light…I can guarantee I'll do this for you."_

"You will?" I ask, pleasantly surprised.

"_Of course. I mean, it sounds absolutely crazy, but I've known you for long enough to know that you're planning something. Tonight I will visit the Bay Harbor Butcher and tell him you're Kira…but don't expect any more favors from me!"_


	8. Chapter 8

**Dexter**

"What the hell are you?"

"_So you're the Bay Harbor Butcher then."_ It's not a question, but an observation.

"I said what the hell are you?" I say backing up, trying to sound as confident as possible when faced by an otherworldly being.

"_Hmm, it's kind of hard to explain. Where do I begin?"_

"That thing," I say, gesturing with a nod to the black notebook on my desk, "you said it was yours. Are you one of them? Are you a Shinigami?"

"_Well, well. I'm surprised you know that word. I didn't think anyone out here would have ever heard of a Shinigami. But I suppose the Bay Harbor Butcher would do his research, you'd need to know what you're up against. My name is Ryuk. How did you find out about Shinigami? That information is…let's say confidential."_

"The Kira task force. One of them told my lieutenant everything about the first investigation into Kira, she passed it on to me. I haven't told anyone else." I tell him, the dread of my impending demise hanging on every word.

"_Oh is that so. Kira didn't think there'd be any leaks from the task force."_

"Kira keeps tabs on the task force following him? If he's that close to them why doesn't he just kill them?" I can't really explain why I keep probing for answers, the information is useless if I'm about to die, but I need to understand why I'm here, it feels safe to know.

The creature, the Shinigami lets out a laugh, "_Kira doesn't really see them as a threat. Especially right now when the world's second most famous serial killer is after him. And once he finds out you just killed Misa, he's going to stop going easy on you."_

"He's still going to kill me?" I ask grasping onto the thread of hope he just gave me, "You're not going to?"

He gives another laugh. It sounds like he's about to die of lung cancer, if he weren't already a death god. _"Me kill you? Haha, no I'm not going to kill anyone. I'm just a spectator, watching the mother of all mind games play out between an exceptionally interesting human being and anyone who gets in his way. And right now, that person is you…Dexter Morgan."_

"This is all just some sick fucking game to you?" I don't care if he's telling the truth or not. "My life, the lives of the people I care about are in danger because you think its fun?"

"_Hey, calm down there Dexter Morgan, it is fun, you have no idea how boring it is being a Shinigami. And getting angry about it won't help, it's not like you can kill me, even if you knew how."_

"So...fine, alright then," I begin, finally starting feeling like have a discussion with a Death God in my apartment isn't an out of the ordinary situation to be in. "So you're not here to kill me…why are you here then?"

"_Well like I said that was my DeathNote you have there. It's something of an obligation for a Shinigami to appear before any human who finds their DeathNote, and explain the rules for using it. But more personally I think it would be more fun if you understood what power you're wielding now. You know, DeathNote vs. DeathNote, the fate of the world hanging in the balance. But you say you already found out. It's a shame really, I was looking forward to really getting to know who Kira's up against. But there's no reason for me to be here anymore then, so I'll just be off…"_ the Shinigami says before turning around and floating towards the wall.

"What so that's it? You're just going to go back to Kira now and tell him who I am?"

He's halfway through the wall, when he turns around to answer my question, "_I told you I'm just a spectator. I'm not actually helping Kira, just watching him play. I'll be watching you too from now on, so maybe you should think about how much you really know about the DeathNote, and when I come back I'll help fill in some of the blanks you might have." _He completely vanishes back through the wall. I'll I can think is that I really do have no understanding of what's going on.

Work is slow today. L is locked up in his office all day. According to LaGuerta, the rest of the task force is running all over Miami, looking for leads on my latest victim, who has some connection to the Kira investigation which they won't disclose. Apparently the Shinigami was telling the truth, Kira keeps close tabs on the task force, they wouldn't even know she was missing otherwise.

Without directions from L, The rest of Miami Metro is tasked with solving normal crimes today, but there are virtually none. There have been literally zero murders recently, and I've already filed my report any unsolved ones from before Kira came to Miami. I don't even want to think about how Masuka's killing his time, but I don't really have to.

Deb comes into my lab just before lunch to see if I'm I want to grab lunch with her, but really to see if I want to talk about our stake out the other night. I'm not feeling very talkative today, and she sees that, so she has lunch with Angel instead.

I don't even leave my lab for lunch. Rita calls me to see if I'm coming over tonight. I'm not in the mood for that either. The entire day goes by so slowly, and nothing happens. But it's not because it's dull. It's because of the huge weight now on my shoulders. Playing cat and mouse with a target isn't something I've never done before. And yes, it felt a little odd at first since this is the first one with supernatural powers that I've faced. But coming face to face with that Shinigami last night shook something in me. The true gravity of my situation is crushing down on me. I can't get the thoughts out of my head. I can't think. I can't plan. I can't win!

That night I just lie on my bed. I'm still hopelessly trying to think of some way I can come out on top. But the same notion keeps taking centre stage in my mind, 'This is just a game. I'm playing against a god, and when I lose, the game will continue, and millions will die, because someone thinks it's fun'.

"_Well well, aren't you mopey today, rise and shine sleepy head."_ That voice, that sickening ghostly voice comes through my ceiling, followed by the face it belongs to.

"Rise and shine? It's nine o'clock in the evening." Maybe if I'm a smartass to it this thing I can piss it off enough for it to just kill me.

"_It's just an expression, Dexter Morgan. I need to know you're awake and paying attention, I have important information on Kira for you."_

"Yeah whatever." I say dismissively, "You told me yesterday that you were neutral. And judging by the fact that I didn't die of a heart attack today I guess you're telling the truth."

"_Good observation." _He laughs, "_You didn't spend all day waiting to die did you?"_

"No. I've been caught up thinking about the scope of what's going on. I kill bad people, but I never wanted to be a hero. I just did it because I had to. But now I'm all that stands between a would be god and world domination."

"_Don't sound so down, Dexter Morgan. I told you I'd come back to help you use your DeathNote and I meant it. Sure if you win the game is over sooner, but it's always more interesting when the underdog comes out on top."_

"You…you're not rooting for me are you?"

It laughs that horrible laugh again. "_No, of course not. I'm not backing either of you. But I can make it more fun."_

"What do you mean?"

"_I was talking to Kira today, and he made me realize something. While I'm not here to help either one of you, you can both see and hear me now, and it would be a shame not to take advantage of that. So I've decided its okay to play messenger to the two of you as well."_

"So you're turning this into a game of Chinese whispers? I'll admit that I don't understand your idea of fun but that seems to a few pegs down."

"_Oh really?" _he says as though he takes this as a challenge, _"The first thing Kira wants me to tell you: he is secretly leading the task force against himself."_

"Seriously?" I reply not buying it, "L is Kira? I wish it were that easy. I could kill two birds with one stone."

"_Well, how will you know if you don't try?"_ he makes a good point, _"And let's look at it this way: you're just some humble vigilante who's under pressure from some guy with a god complex and the world's greatest detective. You couldn't possibly take them both out at once, so you might as well take that DeathNote for a spin."_

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

He looks disappointed, like I just told him I won't be playing his game anymore. _"Huh? Why not?"_

"Well for one thing I don't know L or Kira's real names. So there's no way for me to test unless you tell me, but you won't do that will you? It'll spoil your fun."

"_Hehehe. Well haven't you already gotten me figured out. Come to think of it, he did ask me to tell you his real name, but that would be going too far for me. So what are you going to do then, Dexter Morgan?" _he asks with sincere curiosity.

"Do you have to keep calling me by my full name?"

"_When you're a Shinigami you understand the power of knowing someone's name. I've been waiting a while to know yours so I'm going to make the most of it if you don't mind, Dexter Morgan."_

"No, it's okay. You're right after all; there is a lot of power in knowing someone's true name. That's what I need to do. I need to find out the truth about L, his name his past, if he really is Kira as you say he is. Even if he's not, I might find another skeleton in his closet that'll let me take him out of the picture."

"_Well don't take my word for it. Actually I think I'd be disappointed if you did. Good luck, Dexter Morgan."_ and he vanishes through my wall again.

Ryuk seems to be true to his word. Nothing happens at work today. L and his team don't even show up at the station today. According to LaGuerta they're on a field mission today. She doesn't say what it is, she doesn't know, but it has something to do with me, I know it, even if they don't.

There really isn't anything for us to do. Crime has completely dropped off since Kira arrived. It's sickening how his methods have worked. LaGuerta says she'd let us go home early to spend time with our loved ones in a situation like this, but for the same reason she can't, the public would go insane if the police weren't doing our jobs. Masuka makes a crack about how we don't even have jobs do to at a time like this. He's right, but it gives me time to plan. After all, tonight's the night…

I hate the phrase "Idle hands are the devil's toys", it makes me think that at a time like this I'm being controlled by a higher power, especially now that I know the supernatural exists. My time at work yielded a lot of opportunities for research. Every hotel has become completely booked out going back to a few weeks before L arrived. Any rooms that were taken were immediately booked up again, and are being reserved indefinitely. Not that it matters, Miami has seen zero tourism in the last few weeks.

So it makes it a little easier when a small local Japanese funeral service is brought to a hotel the day after that girl, Misa she's called according to the papers, is found dead. I wouldn't expect them to stay in the same place, but I imagine they've been moving around anyway, and that leaves a trail.

The Tropic Hotel it's called. 5 stars, but I honestly would have expected such a secret task force to go for something a little more subtle. They just moved in last night, there's a black limo out the front, it leaves and returns periodically, while the agents I know as Mogi and Aizawa bring unmarked boxes inside.

This isn't the first time I've had to break into a hotel with a lot of security, even with the level L has around him. Luckily they always make the same mistake, no one ever guards the service enterance.

Inside is dead quite. Even so, as I begin exploring, every second I feel like I'm being watched. And for all I know, I am.

I get to the elevators, they're all on this floor, except for one that's on the 12th, that must be where L is set up. After a few minutes of waiting, it comes back down, and Mogi and Aizawa leave out the front door again. As soon as they're out of sight, I waste no time and head up the nearby stairwell. At level 12 I slow down, one wrong hasty move and I'm dead. The elevators are still all on the ground floor, I have until one of them starts moving again to search the floor and hide myself.

The first door I open and my heart skips a beat. Piles and piles of boxes, all filled with files and papers, stacked on fold up tables and chairs. A crude set up, clearly temporary. It makes sense it would be the closest room to the elevator, they don't need to carry all these boxes any further. Either that or its part of the trap. No, can't think like that, need to stop being so paranoid, need to focus.

I start looking through the boxes in the closet first, they're futherst from the door, and it will be easier to hid myself if the agents come back. At first it's just and endless list of names, but they all have something in common, they're Kira's earliest victims. This information is old, too old to be of any use to me.

And then I remember something Maria told me, this is not the first L, he took over after the first l was killed. This is all data collected by the first L.

I dig deeper through the boxes until I find it. A scruffy journel at the bottom, out of place between the organized files and folders. It's all here, the entire investigation he undertook, every descision he made. And most importantly, L's real name; Light yagami. Despite everything L's father told Maria, he must not have shared everything about how L was able to narrow Kira down to his son, he would have wanted to protect him, and it wouldn't have mattered if Light had been able clear himself.

But the first L seems so sure in his writings, and his logic is foolproof. I'm convinced the new L is probably Kira. But I'll need to take the journal with me, read over it thoroughly, before I make a move to strike down Light. I put the journal in my pocket and head for the door….

A tiny flash of light…. I freeze… my eye twitches…. My heart skips a beat again….

And when it starts beating again, nothing has changed, but still my eye feels iritated. I just walked past the window, maybe glare from the sun… no it's night now. I look out the window.

Across the road in an adjacent hotel, a window perfectly lines up with this one. And in that window is a man with a camera. He's wearing a motorcycle helmet, but I can feel the moment we make eye contact. He lifts his head up and gives me a wave, before dashing out of site.

It was a trap after all. The fact that Kira trapped me using the task force's head quarters proves enough to me that he's working with Light, and that's enough to take him down. There's a million to one shot I'm wrong, but he knows who I am now, and I need to do something before its too late.


	9. Chapter 9

Light

"Tell the Bay Harbor Butcher that Light Yagami is Kira."

"WHAT!" he yells which turns into his insane laugh "Hehehe, sure thing Light I can guarantee I'll do this for you."

"You will?"

"Of course. I mean, it sounds absolutely crazy, but I've known you for long enough to know that you're planning something. Tonight I will visit the Bay Harbor Butcher and tell him you're Kira but don't expect any more favours from me!"

"Actually Ryuk, I have one more favour I need from you". I add.

"Oh geez, what is it! If it s not interesting I won't do it, I can't keep helping you like this Light."

"I need the Shinigami eyes."

He's stunned, he almost looks afraid, but it quickly turns to delight. "Well isn t this a surprise! That I can do! Glad to see that you finally came to your senses and decided to make the trade!"

"It's not for me Ryuk."

"What! Oh of course, why am I even surprised?"

"I was going to have Misa do it, she already had the eyes, but...I had to find someone else. There was a man I noticed at the NO WAR KIRA scene, who I had seen in the background of a Kira news report in Japan. I checked some other reports and he shows up in quite a few. His name is Teru Mikami, and I believe he must have great devotion to my cause if he s followed Kira to Miami."

"You want me to give the eyes to someone without a DeathNote? How is that going to work if he can t even see me?"

"You're going to come with me to speak to him tomorrow, I had Matsuda move him to a secure location after he caught him trying to break into the plane crash crime scene."

It's 6am. There shouldn't be anyone at Miami Metro yet. Matsuda is driving me, and unknowingly, Ryuk, to the hotel where I told him to take Mikami for safe keeping, in a room across from where Mogi and Aizawa are moving out headquarters to by night.

"So Light"? asks Matsuda, "Why did you have me hide this guy away instead of arresting him? You could've still interrogated him from prison couldn't you?'

"Because Matsuda, if it turns out that this man doesn't work for Kira like I believe, then keeping his capture a secret will let Kira think he's winning, so he'll focus on hunting the Butcher, which will lead to his death or identity being revealed. If we arrested him formally and he does work for Kira, news would leak out and Kira would turn his attention towards us again."

"Good thinking Light. It's nice to be chasing after Kira for once without the pressure of having him come after us I suppose."

Matsuda drops me off at the hotel where Mikami is being kept and drives away to review potential suspects linked to both the Butcher and Kira with the rest of the task force.

"So Light, what's your plan with this guy?" he asks me as we leave the elevator on the 12th floor.

"You're about to find out." I whisper back as I open the door.

On the bed on the far side of the room sits a man with scruffy looking hair in a high class suit, slightly muddy around the legs from when he tried to break into the plane crash scene. He looks up at me with a blank expression as I sit down on the leather chair in the middle of the room.

"I am Kira." I tell him without pause. Ryuk gasps softly somewhere behind me.

"Prove it." he says as bland as the expression still on his face.

I pick up my briefcase and open it on my lap. I take out the DeathNote and hand it to him, I have some pages tucked in my shirt just in case.

"Open it."

He complies and flips the DeathNote to its first page. Immediately he starts to grin.

"You'll notice that... "I begin.

"...these are the names of all of Kira's victims. Even the ones the task force couldn't know about."

"Then how do you know about them?"

"Because I'm Kira's biggest fan. Or should I say yours."

Ryuk laughs like a madman. "_You crazy son of a bitch Light! You pulled it off seamlessly!"_

"You doubted your lord for even a second?" Mikami asks. "What are you anyway?" he adds, as though he only just realized the strange situation that had materialized in the room.

"Enough. Mikami, none of this would have been possible without Ryuk. He s a Shinigami; a death god. He's the one who gave me the power to be Kira, and he will share that power with you as well, but you must prove yourself first, and you will need to make a sacrifice."

"Of course my lord, he pleads, dropping from the bed to his knees, anything for you."

"Good. Do you see that room directly across from you?"

"Yes."

"Only three men will enter that room. Two of them are named Mogi and Aizawa; they will be bringing boxes to that room regularly at night. The third is the Bay Harbour Butcher, looking for information to stop Kira. I don t know when he'll come, it may take weeks, but when he does, I need you to take his photo." I throw a small camera from inside my briefcase over to him, followed by a set of car keys and a mobile phone.

"There's a pale green pinto parked outside. Once you have the photo drive north until you reach the swamp. Make sure you re not followed; if you are make sure you lose them. Once you re there, call me on that phone, and give me the name of the Bay Harbour Butcher. And under no circumstances are you to use that DeathNote to kill him, Ryuk will be staying with you the whole time to make sure you follow my instructions."

"_I will_?"

"Yes Ryuk, unless I'm out of favours."

"_No I think I can do that, I wanna see how your plan pans out_."

"Good, can you do all this for me Mikami?"

"Of course my lord! In your name the Bay Harbour Butcher and his followers shall be deleted!"

"Ryuk, please make sure you keep a close eye on him..."

It's sunset the next day, I'm in La Guerta's office going over the Kira investigation, and what s been released to the public, just to make sure that when Mikami makes the sacrifice I have planned for him they will believe it, when the phone rings.

"Mikami?"

"Yes my lord. The Butcher saw me, tried to follow me to the swamp, it would have been easier to kill him than lose him, but your Shinigami wouldn t allow it."

"So you lost him then?"

"Yes Kira."

"Good I m on my way to your location now," I say, getting up, wrapping my coat around me and heading for the door. "Now, what is the Butcher's name?"

"Dexter Morgan. The Bay Harbour Butcher is named Dexter Morgan."

AN: I did some research into how adoption or legally changing your name would affect the DeathNote, but I couldn t find anything, but as you can see, thanks to the Shinigami eyes, even if it turns out I m wrong, it wouldn t change anything, so let s just say his last name is Morgan.

AN2: Ok don't know what happened with that first upload, for some reason it took out all spaces, apostraphes and quotes after the first few lines, hopefully I got them all. Didn't check my work, just uploaded and went to bed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Dexter**

Silence. Almost complete, apart from the deafened sound of wind striking my car as it speeds down the highway. The afterglow of a motorcycle's lights on the horizon is the only indication of where I'm headed.

"You're rushing in without a plan, you're going to get yourself killed." I can hear Harry speak through my conscience inside my head.

"Kira knows who I am." I reply aloud. "It's a wonder he hasn't killed me already."

"Exactly, it's clear he's leading you in to a trap. You should fall back, spend the night with Rita or Debra, the people who care about you. Then tomorrow you can figure out how and why Kira is trying to trap you if you're still here."

"I know it's a trap, but Kira's putting it into action now. If there isn't a reason for that, if he's just toying with me, then if I don't fall for it I'm dead anyway. There's no way I'll survive tonight, so all I can do is try to somehow gain the upper hand when we're face to face."

"It's impossible."

"I know it is! But what else can I do?"

"Ignore him! That way if you turn up dead your loved ones will have deniability. But if your body's found at the scene it will only help prove that you were Kira's target."

"Kira has powers though. Powers that would allow him to make me reveal myself as the Bay Harbor Butcher before dying. So it doesn't matter."

"It's just..." Harry sighs, "I trained you to be who you are so that maybe, you would die with your secrets intact. Now you're headed down the opposite path."

"For the last time there's nothing I can do!" I yell. But Harry's presence has left me.

Silence again. My only company is the glow on the horizon, which seems to be getting brighter. Is it slowing down? Am I speeding up? Neither. There it is, a motorcycle parked by the side of the road, next to a path into the trees. But the headlights are still on. They must have wanted me to notice this. It's almost definitely a trap, but maybe if I'm lucky it's only someone wanting to bargain. Regardless I have to go, I just have to be cautious, and hope that's enough.

**Light**

I hide just behind the tree line at the back of a clearing near a swamp somewhere outside of Miami, it's not very dignified. But in a few minutes it will all be worth it. And that time has come one step closer, as evidenced by the arrival of a man to the clearing, who heads straight for my hiding place.

"Mikami, you made it. Is that the proof?" I whisper, grabbing the camera off him.

"Yes master. But I think he followed me. He kept a safe distance the whole time so I couldn't be sure it was him."

"It was probably him. Dexter Morgan is a smart man, smart enough to make it this far at least. And after all, I want him here. This clearing is the perfect place for the police to find the bodies."

"Bodies...master?"

"You'll see what I mean Mikami. "

Ryuk floats slightly above us, as though he's lying on his side. _"Ooh, I can't wait to see what you mean Light. I mean its a little dark here, but still should be fun to watch. The grand arena, Kira vs. the Butcher. Two enter one leaves. No offence Mikami, but you're really more of a weapon than a contender."_

"It doesn't trouble me. "

"Good, then take your position at the entrance to the clearing, in need Dexter to see you first."

As Mikami leaves, Ryuk lunges downwards through the air at me, stopping short, as if he's been waiting for this moment.

"_But I'm not a weapon or a contender, I'm a spectator. In fact I'm the only spectator. So maybe you could explain the rules to me before the games begin."_

"Very well. Mikami will be Kira, and he's been instructed to identify himself as Kira when Dexter arrives. He has the DeathNote with him to help prove his identity, but as part of my plan I've kept a few pages. From there Mikami will act as Kira until Dexter until he kills him. I would tell him, I'm sure he would make the sacrifice in my name, but there's that chance he might not."

"_And why is Mikami going to act as Kira? Ooh is it to lull Dexter Morgan into a false sense of security?"_

"That will help, but it's mostly for my colleagues' sake. Dexter Morgan turning up dead doesn't do me any good unless it comes with proof that he's the Butcher. And if I just bring him in the question becomes how did I discover his secret as L? Mikami showed up at every Kira related event in Japan, who his presence here will make it easy to prove to everyone that he was Kira. So when Dexter shows up, he will kill Mikami, and I, who will have been following up on this lead, will step forward to late to save Mikami, but with the bug I planted on him, from whatever they say, I will have substantial proof that he is Kira and that Dexter Morgan is the butcher. Tomorrow Dexter will be arrested, and a week from now they will find him dead in his cell – a heart attack – and a message written in blood reminding them that Kira can pass on his powers to another. The next day, the rate of criminals dying of heart attacks will skyrocket in another country, and the world will remember whose name they worship."

"_I...wow...you've got it all thought out haven't you? Another country though?"_

"Going straight back to Japan may seem a little obvious. And what can I say; this has been fun, almost a challenge even. Now seems like a good time to track down all the other serial killers whose identities have yet to be uncovered. I may be Kira, but I'm still the world's greatest detective as well."

Ryuk looks stunned, like he's looking straight through me, surely he knows me well enough to know I have everything under my control. _"Well, I can't reveal your secret, that's my rule. Even if this means the end of my game. Go ahead, I can't stop you."_

"What are you talking about, Ryuk? Why would you stop me? And why would you think you're game is ending, it will never-"

I feel groggy...and numb. I can't feel my body, at least not yet. Even my eyes won't open. I can tell though that I'm lying down. I remember talking to Ryuk, waiting for Dexter...and...and feeling the tiniest pinch on my neck, less than a Mosquito. A though stirs in the back of my slowly awakening mind about where I might be, it's impossible though. I can open my eyes now; once my vision focuses it will prove that thought wrong.

I still can't see anything, there's a light shining in my eyes. I'm not where I think I am, THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! But as I realise that the numb feeling around my body isn't just the drugs, it's the plastic my body has been tightly wrapped in, the voice in the back of my mind says "Well, there was always the chance that it would come to this." Before my mind goes blank with screaming, white hot rage.

_**RYUK**_

This day had to come eventually. Light would either win or lose, but regardless, the game had to end. But that was always his flaw; he never accepted his own mortality. King of the New World? Still would have had to die. I never pictures that it would be in an abandoned rest stop in the middle of a swamp though. I always assumed it would be more dignified for some reason.

_"Sorry, I feel like I might have distracted you there. Or did you not consider that he might not take the take the path and check his surroundings first?"_

"RYUK!" he screams finally noticing me. "LET ME GO, I AM YOUR MASTER, YOUR KING! YOU HAVE TO FREE ME!"

"_I know you're just making a last ditch effort, but how many times did I tell you Light? I don't take orders from you. But if you'd like to beg someone, I think he's the one you want to talk to."_ I laugh, pointing to Dexter Morgan, patrolling around the bench, almost indistinguishable under his mask and apron.

"It won't do him any good. He's killed thousands of people chasing his own delusions of grandeur, because he wanted to rule the world. But he's just scum. I've killed people who you would consider not worth your time in this very room. Not too long ago there was a man, Mike Donovan, killed a couple of kids here, but somehow no one took any notice. I became very familiar with this are investigating what he did, that's how I knew there was a clearing, where you must be waiting, and how I was able to sneak up behind you."

"YOU'RE LYING! YOU MUST BE THIS IS A SHINGAMI TRICK SOMEHOW! OR ELSE MIKAMI WOULD BE HERE!"

"You're friend? He confessed to everything once I knocked you out. He's already been taken care of."

I chuckle at his confession.

"And you," he says directed at me, "You may pretend not to be involved, that you're only an observer, but you're just as responsible as he is. I'd kill you too, but I doubt that's possible."

"IT IS! IT IS POSSIBLE!" screams Light. "I CAN TELL YOU HOW! JUST LET ME GO AND I'LL TELL YOU! AND THEN I WONT KILL ANYONE EVER AGAIN! I PROMISE! I"LL EVEN GIVE YOU MY DEATHNOTE TO PROVE IT!"

"SHUTUP!" he yells, turning back to Light, stuffing a rag into his mouth, and raising his knife up to his cheek.

"_Wait!"_

"What is it?"

"_I didn't think of it until he said it just then. Why don't you take his DeathNote? You could even kill him with it, kind of ironic don't you think?"_

"Excuse me? Why would I do that? I already have one and once this is all over I'm going to destroy it if I can...but I suppose you're right, I need to think about his...I'll make sure I destroy that one too."

I almost shiver at the words. "_But, you can't do that! If you knowingly get rid of a DeathNote, you'll forget everything! The existence of Shinigami, Light being Kira! You could be a hero! If you're the one that killed Kira, people won't care if you're the Butcher. Hmmm? What do you say? To be honest I wouldn't mind sticking around a little longer. Watching you humans react to Kira's death, or at least getting one last apple. It would be fun."_

His hand lingers with his knife to Light's face for a moment, before he sets the knife down. Right before picking up a larger one and holding it straight above his chest.

"Well then, let's call it plausible deniability."

The blade begins to fall, the game is over. I don't wait around to see it land. All that's on my mind is getting to the nearest fruit market and feasting as much as I can before he destroys the DeathNotes. It's been fun.

**Dexter**

Two months ago Kira killings ceased. Around that time Light Yagami vanished. No one knows what happened to either one of them. The hopeful are sure that they managed to take each other out. The more wary suspect that maybe Kira finally got his adversary, and that he's just bidding his time. I don't see why he would be doing that, especially with the state of the world.

Chaos, rioting, record crime all over the world. It started slowly, a couple of big name crimes were committed, and everyone sat waiting for Kira to take out the perpetrators, but then he didn't. And bit by bit, the world came to believe Kira is gone. People became slightly more daring until...anarchy.

Working for the police, the workload is...overwhelming to say the least. Everyone works 12 hour days, six day weeks until the crisis is over. I'm not so sure that will be soon, people from all over the world all believed in the same thing, they had something to fear, consequences for their actions they could not refute, now that's gone. I never thought too much about Kira, just that he was another reason to keep my hobbies well hidden. And sure, given the chance I would have like to make him pay for his crimes again humanity. But I can't deny he kept mankind in check and that the world was safer, though sometimes I feel the only thing separating him from me was his god complex. But that's only sometimes, the rest of the time, his very existence made me feel like less of a monster. So to hold onto that feeling, I make sure I spend my one free day with Rita and her kids, my dark passenger is oddly sated for now. It must be the thought of all the new potential playmates I'll have once the storm has passed.

Still, god help them if they've looted the super market again. Rita's asked me to pick up some chocolate pudding on the way home, something about cravings...

**THE END.**


End file.
